Midnight Dance
by riverajocabed1
Summary: 12 girls in one crule kingdom. All with the same wish. To be free to make their own choices instead of having their strict aunt lock them inside their room every night. When the queen soon decides it's time to marry each princess away the girls are more determined than ever to stay together. ( 12 dancing princesess parody) Human AU.
1. Like Sisters

**Oh boy! I've been rather sad at the fact that Troll Dancer was done with. I love making spin offs of classics like the Nutcracker. So I decided to do another classic, Midnight Dance. Parody of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Do you have any idea how** _ **badly**_ **I want a full length film based on the 12 Dancing Princesses?! And I hope your ready for a wild ride because I plan to give this a " Troll Dancer " feel. If you haven't read that one please do. Im very proud of it. Anyways! Here we go!**

 **Oldest princess to youngest ( Their humans in this because there are some situations in this story where the trolls can just save themselves with their hair plus there is a topic that can only be tackled with humans. You'll see later)**

 **Poppy - 18**

 **Bridget - 17**

 **Suki - 16**

 **Satin and Chenille - 15**

 **Smidge - 14**

 **Karma - 13**

 **Maddy - 12**

 **Wisp - 11**

 **Jo - 11**

 **Rebey - 8**

 **Harper - 5**

 _ **Female voice, narration**_

" _Once upon a time there was a kingdom. A kingdom named Rainbow Kingdom. The king, King Peppy, named it this for the rainbow represents a grand promise from higher power. As king he promises a grand future for his subjects and he'll do everything in his power to keep all the good with him and bad away._

 _Inside the castle, he had mosaic windows made of glass to form a picture of everyone in his royal family. Including his 12 daughters._

 _Harper, the youngest, is an artistic little girl. Colorful, curious, wild, playful, she can bring a smile to anyone's face. She had pale white skin and painted her hair a dark blue. She expresses herself through beautiful artwork. But being the youngest, she was always sheltered by her older sisters. On the day she was born she was gifted a necklace with a silver paint brush attached to it._

 _Rebecca or Rebey for short, second youngest, was born with a rebellious nature. The day she was born she was a stubborn and tough little girl. Wrestling and fighting with her sisters since she was 1. Stubborn yet elegant. She was gifted a necklace with an arrow the day they found out about her talent in archery._

 _Jo was an adopted daughter. Thick wavy and painted silver hair passing her waist and light tan skin. She entered the family at the age 6 and was gifted a snow owl necklace. Her nose was always stuck in a book or in her story journal. She's incredibly calm when she's into her books but when she's not studying or reading, she can be rather hyper when it comes to new things. Her mind is full of small facts about nearly everything._

 _Wisp, a girl born into a wheelchair, and with the most delicate personality, was a sensitive girl and the kindest girl you can meet. She spends time out in the gardens with the animals. She wore her dark pink hair in a pixie cut and tied with a bow. She was gifted a butterfly necklace._

 _Maddy was born a hairstylist. She painted her hair a dark blue to match her pale complexion and spent most of her days with hair accessories, and styling her sisters hair. It was what she lived for. She held a scissor shaped silver necklace._

 _Karma was born into the wild. Literally born into the wild, the queen had to have labor in the middle of the forest when Karma decided to come early. The girl wanted to keep that side to her by painting her hair green and decorating it with flowers, herbs and sticks. She knew everything she needed to know about surviving in the wild and was an expert on plants and survival. Her necklace was a wildflower._

 _Smidge had a rough birth. From being dropped at birth to having growth problems. Smidge is stuck to grow no higher than 4 feet but her little height wasn't enough to hold her back. She trained and trained to be the strongest princess in her family. Lifting weights, exercising every morning, and eating healthy. Her necklace was a lion._

 _Satin and Chenille were identical twins. The girls grew up with a great passion for fashion. The two were generous and kind but couldn't be more different than each other. Chenille had a tougher and more aggressive side to her while Satin was more of a softer and gentle girl. They were gifted a necklace that held a single puzzle piece that fit perfectly with the other twins puzzle piece._

 _Suki was born with a very different look to her. While her sisters had thin, straight, black to light brown hair with light skin, Suki had thick curly red hair that she painted orange with snowy white skin and dark freckles and bright purple eyes. It was even rumoured she wasn't really the kings daughter and the mother must've gotten frisky with a commoner. Either way, the king accepted her. She loved making music using insect noises. Her whole life revolves around music and insects. She was also the only princess who insisted on wearing pants. Even as a little girl, she torn up all her dresses with her father's sword and had the twins sew them into pants. Her necklace was a purple treble note._

 _Bridget was a very plump and chubby girl. She insisted on doing all her own chores and even help out the castle maids with their work. She loved to cook, clean, and make everyone she loves happy. Her necklace was an Alpine Swallow._

 _Poppy, the oldest and the heir to the throne. She wore a heart necklace the day she was born. No one knew why each princess had a necklace to symbolise them. Not even the princesses themselves knew why. But that didn't matter at the time. Poppy was the most responsible and smartest of the bunch. All 11 sisters looked up to their oldest sister. Poppy was their role model, their queen, their everything. Poppy was a cheerful girl with positivity to spare. She never knew the meaning of giving up. She believed that as long as she had her amazing sisters by her side and a well thought out plan, she would keep the promise her father made and be the queen her people needs her to be…"_

 _ **Crack!**_

A sudden smack to the mosaic picture of the pink haired princess nearly broke the picture to pieces.

"… _.. But I'm afraid there are some days…."_

The mosaic picture shattered into bits by a spark of dark blue. Inside a dark castle, a lady with a tall sparking staff gave a deathly glared at all the mosaic pictures of the 12 princesses.

"… _.. That you can't plan for…."_

With a smirk on her lips, and a wave of the staff, the lady sent out fire work like sparks towards every mosaic picture. Each line of spark hitting one picture and blasting it into little bits. The wicked lady let out a spine chilling chuckle as she watched the colorful glass fly into the air and fall upon her feet. The thought of the poor princesses downfall, the image of the helpless girls surrendering to her brought joy to her heart.

 _ **Rainbow Kingdom**_

In a kingdom full of color and life, people were setting up decorations and games. Today was a very important day. The eldest princess, Princess Poppy, is turning 18 and is having her coronation today. She was stepping out of her princess image and taking the throne as queen. Everything had to be done perfectly. The princesses were scattered all over the kingdom each decorating or helping set up the festival. All but one.

At the castles garden, a certain pink haired girl was strolling around. She held a bouquet of orange flowers in her hand tied with a neat pink bow. For her coronation day, she wore a depressing expression across her face. She had a lot of pressure on her shoulders. She could hardly believe it. 18 years she's been preparing for this day, working hard to learn all there is to know about her kingdom and family history. Yet, she feels like there is so much more than just knowing. She felt so unprepared for this day.

The young princess soon came to a stop in a clear area of grass. She kneeled down and looked at a stone in the ground with words neatly carved into it.

 _King Peppy, Beloved king and loving father_

"Hello father," Poppy started with a light and soft voice," Poppy here, I just wanted to give you a visit before my coronation today. I really wish you were here with me. You always knew what to say when I was nervous. Guiding me, giving me advice. The day you disappeared was…. the worst day of my life. I didn't know what to do or say. I was afraid that I would fail without you…. I'm still afraid…. but I know you would want me to be strong and move on. If you were with me right now you would be telling me to keep my head up high and be positive. Never let go of hope. I promise father, I'll be the queen my people need. And the _best_ eldest sister there ever was."

With that, Poppy placed her flowers on the grave and walked away with a heart still full of hope and positivity.

 _ **In town**_

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLLY JUST HURRY UP!" Rebey shouted at the top of her lungs as she watched the twins slowly decorate the stage where Poppy was gonna be crowned queen. The twins were tying bows on the edge and placing a silver gem on the center of the bows.

"Ah ah, Mother put us on decoration duty remember?" Satin reminded the little girl.

"And if mother asked _us_ to do it, clearly she's going for fabulous," Chenille told an impatient Rebey.

"It's already the afternoon! When will this be ready?" Rebey mumbled under her breath.

"Before the coronation tonight…."

"So we must make sure the stage is presentable for our dear big sister," Chenille finished Satins sentence.

"Presentable is taking forever…." Rebey looked down at the basket of ribbons on the floor. With a smirk on her face, Rebey grabbed the ribbons and took out her bow and arrows,"... But amazing….."

One by one, Rebey threw the ribbons into the air and shot them against the edges of the stage. Once every ribbon was stabbed on the stage, Rebey proudly crossed her arms and bragged.

"I sure am improving on my archery don't you think?"

"No no no no no….." The twins panicked as they looked at the sloppy job their little sister just did.

"Arrows stabbing bows isn't your go to look," Chenille pulled the arrows off the stage and handed the ribbons to Satin.

"Awe come on….." Rebey huffed.

"Why don't you help Bridget with her catering?" She heard Karama coming. The green haired girl was pushing their sister on a wheel chair to them.

"She could really use the help. I mean I would do it but I already promised the twins I help them get Poppy ready for her coronation today," Wisp said in her usual delicate and fragile voice. Even when she had a pixie cut, wisp used her bangs to hide her face whenever she felt scared or nervous.

"Oh alright," Rebey rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Speaking of Poppy and carnation, where is that big sister of ours?" Karma looked around the place for her.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Poppy came onto the stage with her dress full of dirt and her hair all over the place.

"Oh my dear Poppy!" The twins gasped when they saw their sister.

"Did you just pass by a hurricane or something?!" Chenille circled her.

"What," Poppy shrugged not knowing what she did," I was at the castle and saw I was late so I ran as fast as I could here. Yea I tripped a couple times but who doesn't when your wearing these heels."

Before Poppy can pull off her shoes, the twins dragged her back stage and into a curtain and forced her into a dress.

"Poppy darling, you are gonna be queen," Chenille told her as she zipped up Poppy's dress," This will be the _biggest_ celebration our kingdom will ever see. As the future queen you _can not_ mess this up! This night will _define_ who you are. Our people will remember you for this day and this day alone! The pressure _will_ be intense. You can't blow this!"

"Sheesh…. Pressure much," Poppy felt her face start to heat up from all her nerves.

"You must look fierce and confident tonight. Show the kingdom what type of leader you are. Strong, confident," Chenille took out a brush and brushed all of the dust and leaves Poppy had in her hair.

"Confident! Got it!" Poppy took a deep breath in yo calm her racing heart.

"Oh but be sure to appear sweet and gentle. We don't want the people of our kingdom thinking your gonna be an evil queen who will rule them all with an iron fist!" Satin made sure to get it into her head.

"Oh… right, yes. Sweet and gentle," Poppy nodded her head.

"Oh no Chenille! Georgette fabric? That won't do," Satin unzipped Poppy's dress and was about to take it off until Chenille slapped her twins hand away.

"Georgette fabric gives the dress a bouncy and flowing effect. Plus it's strong and holds up well to wear," Chenille was gonna zip the dress back up only for Satin to pull the dress off of Poppy completely.

"Girls?" Poppy felt awkward for being in her underwater behind the curtain.

"It's also rough and dry, it won't do at all!" Satin threw the dress aside and took out a satin dress," Satin is one of the most popular fabric out there. It will surely shine."

"Satin satin satin, what is it with you and the fabric satin?" Chenille shook her head at her sister.

"It's not my fault father named me after the best fabric out there," Satin pulled the dress over Poppy and zipped it up while Chenille just rolled her eyes.

"Uge, fine! Just as long as Poppy looks fabulous for tonight," Chenille then pulled Poppy's pink hair into a bun.

"What are you doing?" Satin pulled Chenille away letting Poppy's hair fall out of it's neat bun.

"Pinning her hair up, duh,"

"No, the best option for her is to wear her hair down," Satin brushed Poppy's hair," To frame that beautiful face of hers."

"Well I say it should be up," Chenille nudges Satin aside," To show her kingdom her exquisite eye's!"

"No we're gonna put it down," Satin forced out a laugh as she took out an extra brush and brushed it across Poppy's hair.

"Up," Chenille pulled onto Poppy's hair jerking her head towards Chenille.

"Down," Satin did the same nearly snapping her sisters neck.

"Ow, girls," Poppy felt like her neck was gonna snap.

"Up!"

"Down!"

"Up!"

"Down!"

"Enough!" A girl with painted blue and curled hair barged in. She pushed the two aside, took out her comb and scissors, and glared at the twins," Who's the hairdresser?"

"Gggrr…. You Maddy," The twins mumbled under their breath.

"That's right! Now don't just stand there ladies, get Poppy into a suitable dress," Maddy ordered them.

"What's wrong with the satin dress!?" Satin snapped.

"It's nice but the hairstyle I have in mind will not do. Pick her out something….. Nature like,"

"Alright," the twins went to pick out a dress as Maddy pulled Poppy's hair into a high ponytail letting her bangs flow across her forehead and fall to the side of her head ever so gracefully. The twins came out with a green flower like dress completed with a a long flowing cape. Bits of flowers sprinkled all over the cape giving it an elegant look.

"What do you think?" Satin asked Poppy.

"It's….. Really beautiful….

" Poppy smiled at the sight. But her voice had a hint of worry.

"I see you still have the jitters," Maddy said as she placed a flower onto Poppy's hair.

"Yea, I'm really nervous…. What if I'm not the queen this kingdom needs?" Poppy nervously rubbed her arm.

"Oh sweet heart, of course you are!" Satin encouraged her.

"Yea, show some confidence will you. You'll be the best queen there ever was," Chenille added in.

"But how do you know that?" Poppy asked worriedly.

"Because you're our sister," Satin sat down on a chair in front of Poppy. Her eye's meeting hers. Satin can tell right away how scared Poppy was for today," You've always been the best at everything. Ever since father disappeared 5 years ago, you've been there for all your little sisters. You never gave up no matter how hard things got. You are our role model Poppy. You'll be the best queen there ever was. And if your family believes that, then your people will too."

"And besides, you got us, all 11 of your sisters to fall back to," Chenille assured Poppy.

"Thanks…. I needed that," Poppy gave out a nervous but happy smile.

"Excuse me, hope I'm not interrupting anything…. Oh, um, am I interrupting something?" Wisp shyly looked through the curtains.

"Of course not little sis. Come on in," Poppy gestures for her to come in. Wisp spun the wheels on her wheelchair and headed closer to Poppy.

"The circus act is here for their afternoon show. They need a signature from the future queen to confirm their arrival," Wisp timidly told her.

"Me? Can't mother do it?" Poppy felt a little pressured.

"Well you are the future queen," Karma came in," And you did ask for entertainment for the little ones like Harper."

"Right… that was my request," Poppy took a deep breath in and stood up," It's gonna get a lot of use to. Being queen and all."

"Hey, no matter what happens, you will always have us," Karma smile politely for her.

( sing **bold for actions** )

 _ **Karma**_

"It's time to show 'em what you've got"

 **Karma handed her the paper for Poppy to sign which she gladly did.**

 _ **Maddy**_

"It's time to go and get things done,"

 **Maddy pulled onto Poppy's pink hair to tighten the ponytail and fixed her flower crown.**

 _ **Satin and Chenille**_

"But you don't have to do it on your own…."

 **The twins pulled Poppy's dress down and tied her corset to the point where Poppy couldn't even breath.**

 _ **Whisp**_

" 'Cause you've got us right here to make it fun!"

 _ **Princesses**_

"We got this,

You got this,  
We got this like sisters!

 **All her sisters pushed Poppy out of the curtains and dragged her outside where everyone was playing around in the festival.**

 _ **Suki**_

"Sometimes the pressure gets you down,  
And the clouds are dark and grey,"

 **Poppy caught sight of her sister who was swinging around on the trapeze with the circus act. She always loved keeping her feet off the ground like butterflies and insects. Her outfit was made to resemble a butterfly. Her thin and long scarf flowed around like a butterflies wing.**

"Just kick them off and let the sun shine through,  
And scary as it seems,  
More help is on the way,  
'Cause friends have friends that want to help out too,"

 **The girl let go of the bars and fell on the net letting her bounce in front of Poppy.**

 _ **Princesses**_

"We got this,

You got this,  
We got this like sisters,"

 **Her sisters pulled Poppy across the town watching everyone set up their games and stores.**

 _ **Everyone**_

"It is your coronation,  
And we can get it done,  
A festival they won't forget,"

 **They came to a huge library and entered.**

"A party to be proud of,  
A day of games and fun,  
Just you wait and see,  
A magic day in perfect harmony,"

 **Inside were 2 more princesses. One had sparkling silver hair tied into a tri ponytail and wearing a dark purple dress. The girl slid down the stairs of the library and walked to the balcony where the youngest sister was painting a landscape of the kingdom.**

 _ **Jo**_

"You got this,  
We got this like sisters,"

 **Jo opened her book and read while the painter sang as well.**

 _ **Harper**_

"With friends and family you are never alone  
If you need help we've got your back,"

 _ **Jo**_

"You can be honest,

Let your problems be known,"

 **After Harper was done with her painting, she ran out of the library with her sisters. Poppy on the other hand had to run back in and drag Jo outside with her nose still in a book.**

 _ **Jo and Harper**_

"'Cause you got us,  
To pick up the slack,  
We got this,"

 **The girls pass by Smidge who was slamming a hammer onto a metal plate and making the ball fly into the air and ring the bell.**

 _ **Smidge**_

"YES!"

 **The short princess did a little victory dance with the hammer still in hand. The girls lifted the hammer lifting their sister into the air as well and pulling her with them.**

"We got this like sisters!"

 **At the stage where Poppy was gonna be crowned queen, all the girls started to fix the decorations.**

 _ **Satin**_

"Pay attention to the details,  
Every gem even spaced,  
Make the colors perfect,"

 **As the girls fixed the stage Smidge found a cart full of cupcakes pass by.**

 _ **Smidge**_

"Taking one or two to taste,"

 **She rubbed her hands together and followed the cart.**

 _ **Chenille**_

"Inside and out,  
Beautiful throughout,  
Generosity is what we're all about,"

 _ **Maddy**_

"We got this,"

 _ **Whisp**_

"You got this,"

 _ **Whisp and Maddy**_

"We got this like sisters,"

 **As all the girls laughed and decorated the stage, Poppy slowly walked away in deep thought. She went to the middle of the town where the kingdoms biggest water fountain was. Around the fountain were 12 stepping stones, each holding a painted picture of the 12 princesses necklace.**

 _ **Poppy**_

"Today needs to be perfect,  
It all comes down to me,  
I don't know if I'm ready,  
For all the things they need me to be,"

 **Poppy sighed as she hopped from stepping stone to stepping stone around the fountain. As she hopped, she looked into her reflection of the falling water. Her eye's mainly fell upon her princess crown.**

"I am the princess of my people,  
But that is more than just a crown,  
It's a promise to bring people together,  
And never let anybody down,"

 **Out of nowhere, the cart of food raved right by her with someone pulling her onto the cart. As Smidge enjoyed the food, Bridget was trying to decorate the cupcakes while inside the cart, with Rebey riding the horse that was pulling the cart.**

 _ **Bridget**_

"We've got an awful lot to bake!  
Each person needs a piece of cake,  
Oh, wait! There's something better we can do!"

 _ **Rebey**_

"We're gonna need some more supplies!"

 _ **Bridget**_

"To make a really big surprise!"

 _ **Bridget and Rebey**_

"They'll be so shocked  
Their sure to love it too!"

 **At the stage, the two girl unloaded the bake goods.**

 _ **Rebey**_

"You got this,"

 _ **Bridget**_

"We got this like sisters,"

 **All 12 sisters ran around trying to finish every single little detail on the decorations.**

 _ **Everyone**_

"It is your coronation,  
Together we are one,

A day we will,  
Never forget,  
And now everything is ready,  
So when the day is done,"

 **As the sun was setting, they lit up the stage.**

 _ **Karma, Whisp, and Rebey**_

"The weather,"

 **Set out the food.**

 _ **Bridget, Harper and Smidge**_

"The banquet,"

 **Finished the decorations.**

 _ **Satin, Chenille and Maddy**_

"The style,"

 **And the band prepared to play for the coronation.**

 _ **Jo and Suki**_

"And music,"

 _ **Everyone**_

"All will be in perfect harmony!"

( End )

 _ **Inside the castle**_

A beautiful woman stood on the balcony watching her subjects form their celebration. Her green colored hair was tied down into a braid letting her long bangs hang over her pink eyes. A big frown was stuck on her lips. She couldn't help but feel scared for her daughters. Specifically Poppy. The young one is taking a big step today. She should be happy right?

The soon to be ex queen, walked back into her room and across the halls. The halls held mosaic pictures of their family. The queens eye's ran across each picture, studying them very carefully. It wasn't until she came to a halt where shattered glass was scattered all over the hall floors. Queen Emerald looked down at the colorful bits besides her feet before looking up. With her eye's full of tears, she looked upon all the broken windows. 12 broken windows to be exact. Each one where an image of her daughters were supposed to be. Just the sight brought pain to her chest. The queen held onto her heart as if it was the last thing she owned at the moment before looking down finally releasing her tears.

"Why…. Why today?"

 **Well there we go. Do you have any idea how hard this chapter was!? I spent 5 days trying to figure out an opening song. COME ON! I have 12 girls to introduce in one song! I actually wanted to do a very traumatic opening scene. I was gonna jump right into the danger and drama like in " Prince of Egypt " or " Hunchback of Notre Dame," but I had second thoughts. I wanted the sisters to have at least a happy moment before going into danger. Show their sisterly love. So I decided to go with a song that came from the source that inspired this story…... My Little Pony Friendship is Magic…..**

 **PROUD MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC FAN RIGHT HERE! I can blame my sister for it. She's the one that would play mlp non stop and dragged me to see the movie. It took until season 4 but my sister finally got me obsessed with the show. But wait!** _ **How on earth did a show about magical talking ponies who shoot out rainbooms and magic lazers inspire this story about 12 dancing princesses?**_ **Well remember how I said I felt empty and explored other fandoms. I went to the mlp fandom as well and read this amazing story porady on the 12 dancing princesses with the mane 6 as the princess. I loved it so much I wanted to make my own mlp parody of the 12 dancing princesses, but I then remembered trolls and decided I can make it work. So if you get a mlp vibe you know why….. The song is a parody of " We Got This Together" from the mlp movie…..**

 **Ok ok you can make fun of me in the reviews.**


	2. El vida es maravilla, maravilla es vivir

**Back again! And I'm glad you don't think me being obsessed with My Little Pony is strange because let me tell you a fact about this story. This story was** _ **originally written for My Little Pony.**_ **The dialogue was already written, parts of the story was written, casting was done, cameos and special appearance were set and ready, everything was ready. Not to mention tons** _ **TONS**_ **of MLP references such as songs. It wasn't until the last minute when I decided to change it to Trolls. It was a challenge considering I had to replace mlp characters with Trolls characters.**

 **And I'm copying and pasting a few things so if there's a typo please ignore it or tell me. I don't want a scene where it's suddenly raining chocolate rain, party cannons explode or the pirate crew suddenly show up to help in a trolls story.**

 **Also l was originally gonna upload last weekend but holy smokes. I have a 9 year old sister who dragged ne to theaters to see "Small Foot" 3 times already. She's planning on seeing it at least 2 more times. In fact we're going today and tomorrow. I think I'm gonna go broke. I don't regret seeing it with her tho, it was a very charming and beautiful film that gave me an amazing idea for this story and oh did it ever inspire me to make this story even** _ **better**_ **than I originally had plan… also I'm a HUGE sucker for musicals and the ice and snow theme. LOVE IT!**

 **Jp bake - Yea I know Mlp isn't for everyone. I actually wasn't interested in it at first. 2nd season kinda got my attention thanks to Discord but season 4 was where it pulled me in. The finally has demon eating every bit of magic. Not to mention there are dark moments. One of them being a pony commiting suicide by feeding herself alive to a monster in front of an audience… don't worry her friend saves her.**

In the kingdom, everyone was happily playing games, eating, and having a grand time. All except Poppy who was backstage waiting for her time to be crowned queen. She took in deep breaths to settle down her racing heart. In just a couple minutes, they'll announce her to come on stage to be crowned.

"I can do this. This is a day to be happy. A day of wonder…. I hope I'm ready," Poppy kept whispering to herself.

"What makes you think you are not ready?" She heard a young voice behind her. She looked down to see her little sister who still had her nose in a book.

"Jo…. Don't sneak up on me like that. I'm ready jumpy as I am,"

"Hmph, To the point where your questioning your leadership," Jo's eye's moved up to look at her sister.

"I'm not questioning my…. Leadership. Father taught me everything I need to know. And today is the day I become the perfect leader for my kingdom. A leader they can all trust. A flawless leader my people will look up to…."

"Flawless huh," Jo closed her book and paid all her attention to her big sis," Well father did teach you a lot. But your still questioning your leadership skills."

Poppy shut her eyes tight and sighed. She couldn't hide it. This girl could read anyone like an open book.

"Life is full of surprises Jo. Very unpleasant surprises. What if life gets too rough for me? As the new leader, my people will have thousands of questions for me. What if it gets to the point where I can't answer them. What if I fail in life as a leader? Life…. Life isn't always pleasant," Poppy's mind began to fill with images and memories of her father. The times he played with her, moments when he shared his knowledge to her, and the day his life was taken away.

"True…. Life is full of unpleasant surprises but….. El vida es maravilla, maravilla es vivir," Jo softly told her older sister. Poppy took in a deep breath before looking at her.

"I never understood that phrase you say. Can't you at least translate it into english please," Poppy said with a hint of begging. Jo, short for Jocabed, came from a hispanic origin. Her brown skin separated her from her other sisters. She never spoke about her biological family. The only thing she ever spoke that seemed to relate to her family was that one spanish sentence she spoke almost everyday. No one, not even her adoptive parents, understood what it ment. It's times like these when Poppy wishes she payed more attention in her spanish class.

"El vida es maravilla, maravilla es vivir," Jo simply shrugged and smiled. Poppy just rolled her eyes. She already knew that Jo will never translate it.

"Everyone, may I please have your attention!" Poppy heard Karma announcing on stage.

"Here it comes," Poppy was so nervous she could practicality feel her heart pounding against her chest.

At the castle, Queen Emerald was quickly packing clothing, and anything the girls may need into some luggage.

"Your majesty, it's almost sundown," she heard a familiar voice come in. The queen didn't stop even for second. She kept packing and zooming across the room.

"I know I know. So little time. T.G is the carriage ready?" The queen asked him.

"Yes. I made sure everything is ready for your daughters departure," T.G answered her. T.G was one of the queen's most trusted knights. While he was known for being goofball, when the time was right, he couldn't be any more serious.

"Oh T.G. If only it didn't happen on the day of Poppy's coronation," Emerald closed all qw lugeges and handed them to T.G," Put these in the carriage and quick. The girls should be at the festival. They need to get of here now."

"You not going with them?" T.G was rather surprised at this.

"No, I can't. My sister wouldn't be pleased to see me," Emerald answered.

"And you think she'll be happy to see your daughters?"

"No….. But she never met them and besides. This is their best choice. I need to send then away,"

"But why to that lady. Your sister isn't the….. Gentle type," T.G asked. Emerald grabbed a little book from Jo's bed and began to walk with T.G.

"I know, but Chef can't do any damage to anyone if my girls are with her," Emerald revealed. T.G looked over at the queen with confusion.

"Damage? What are you hiding?" this question clearly hit the queen hard. She looked down at the ground avoiding eye contact with her knight.

"Promise me you'll take good care of my daughters," when they reached outside, they put all the luggage into the carriage.

"Me? Me alone?" T.G wasn't expecting this. The queen simply nodded before closing the carriage.

"My daughters must escape and they need someone to watch over them. Can I trust you with this task?"

T.G hesitated for a while. Everything was moving way to fast for him. He had no idea what he was doing and yet he was doing it.

"Yes…. Your majesty," he finally confirmed. The queen gave a small smile before she turned to leave.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Put this in Jo's bag will you please," Emerald handed T.G a small book.

"What is it?" T.G opened the book and examined all the texts and numbers.

"It's Jos bible. She never leaves without it. When we adopted her, we were told it was the last thing she has of her parents. Don't lose it," Emerald warned him.

"Yes your majesty," T.G saluted. He placed the book inside the carriage and hopped on. He grabbed the ropes and made the horses pull the carriage towards the festival. Queen Emerald watched in great worry. She looked out into the distance where the sun was barely touching the horizon.

"Please get out in time," Emerald pleaded.

Back at the ceremony, Poppy was standing in the middle of the stage with her sisters sitting down behind her. Bridget was at the very front with Poppy.

"I speak for all my sisters when I say we couldn't be any prouder of our oldest sister. Ever since we were kids, Poppy always had a cheerful personality. I can't remember a day when she didn't have a smile on her face. Everyday she brought nothing but positivity to our lives. Which is why she deserves the title of queen. She's honest, beautiful, hardworking, cooperative….."

As Bridget continued with her speech, T.G stopped the carriage near the stage and looked at the sunset. He knew he only had a couple of minutes to get the girls out of here. He hopped off and ran towards all the girls that were sitting down.

"Pardon your majesties, but we have an emergency. I need all of you in the carriage now!"

"What? Why?" Rebey was confused.

"No time to explain. We need to go now," T.G grabbed onto Wisps wheelchair and push her away.

"Now? But Poppy's coronation," Wisp didn't understand the man's motivations.

"Please no questions, I'm just doing what I was told to do," T.G opened the carriage and carried Wisp into it.

"Where are we going?" Maddy followed the knight.

"to your aunts kingdom. We don't have much time,"

"T.G, I hope you don't mind answering, but why are we leaving?" Wisp asked. Little did she know she was getting her answer really soon. The carriage jerked to its side causing Wisp to fall. Maddy looked down to see that a large crack just formed underneath them. Frighten, Maddy looked up at T.G.

"What's happening?" She whispered to him. Before anyone can answer, Maddy felt her feet suddenly go cold. She again jerked her head to look down to find that water was spilling out from the crack," T.G!?"

"Into the carriage! Hurry!" T.G pushed Maddy in and ran back to the stage. Once he reached the girls, he saw that the speech had come to a halt and everyone was silent. All eyes wandered around as a rumbling noise filled the air. Within every second it would get louder and louder.

"What's going on!?" Jo was the first to jump from her seat and look around in a panic. T.G didn't waste a single moment. He grabbed as many princesses as he can and pulled them into the carriage. Poppy looked down at the shaking ground, with her heart nearly busting out of her chest.

"T.G? What's happening?!" Poppy looked behind her where the man was. He picked up Harper and tossed her into the carriage.

"We need to go now! Like right now!" T.G marched his way to Poppy and grabbed her by the wrist. With all his strength, he pulled her off the stage and into the carriage," Your mother wants all of you out of this kingdom before the spell hits!"

"Spell?! What spell!?" Jo questioned but she got no answer. T.G shut the door and drove the carriage away. Out of curiosity, Jo opened the window and looked out,"Oh my…."

Jo pulled herself back in. The girls could tell right away she saw something horrific. Her tan skin was becoming pale and her eyes were wider than plates. Feeling like she had to know, Poppy looked out the window has well. The strong wind hit her face and whipped her pink hair around. She swiped it away from her face and took a clear look at what was happening. Water, water was rising. But how? They were nowhere near any lakes or oceans. People were running around in a panic, trying to save everything they had. If that wasn't enough, this water was clearly no ordinary water.

She watched as people suffered to to take a single step. It was like the moment the water hit you, you become stiff. Not knowing how much more of this she can take, Poppy sat back down in her seat and shut the window. She held onto her racing heart, trying to sort out all the questions in her mind.

Back at the castle, Queen Emerald was running across the castle trying to avoid the danger. Her entire castle was shaking violently causing bits of the ceiling to fall. Cracks began to form on the walls and floor nearly splitting her castle in two. Emerald rushed over to some stairs and ran up them as fast as she can. Before she can even make it to the top, a piece of the ceiling fell and broke the set of stairs in front of her. Thinking fast, Emerald turned back around and ran down the stairs only to be greeted by the ice cold water rising to her level. She had no choice but to accept that this was where it ends for her. She took a peek out a nearby window to see that the sun had completely set and half of her kingdom was already consumed by water and ice. She studied her surroundings, watching carefully frost began to consume the castle walls. The atmosphere got colder by the minute to the point where the queen can see her breathe. She folded her her hands and looked out the window.

"Please, let my daughters escape and return to us," she prayed with all her heart. An ice cold chill caught her by the ankles and climbed up her leg. Her breathing became unsteady when she felt the chill. It was like death was climbing up to her. The feeling spread from her waist to her shoulders and all across her body. Her pink eyes looked down to her ice cold hands. Patches of ice could be seen forming against her skin. It spread across her fingers and past her wrist. Emerald can already feel her entire body go numb. Not wanting to see more, she shut her eye's tight and waited. After what seemed like an eternity to her, she finally lost all feeling of warmth.

 _ **Outside of the kingdom**_

All 12 princesses patiently waited in the carriage. They had left their home faster than they can blink. Half of the girls were fast asleep while a couple stayed wide awake.

"How can they even sleep after what happened?" Poppy asked to no one particular.

"Spell… what do you think T.G meant by spell," Jo asked with a drowsy tone. She was half asleep but after the experience, she didn't feel the need to sleep.

"I don't know. And I highly doubt he'll answer that…. I just wish mother could've come with us," Poppy took one more glance out the window. It was just becoming night. The sun was gone and the moon was high in the sky. Clouds took over half of the view," Or at least said goodbye to us."

"What do you think our aunts kingdom is like?" Suki asked trying to get her mind off of what happened. Poppy took her time to think on this. Their mother rarely spoke of their aunt. Whenever they would ask about her their mom would drift to a new subject. It was like she didn't want anything to do with her sister but now look at them. Headed to her kingdom like she was their only hope.

"I'm sure she's a good queen. Mother wouldn't send us with someone who wasn't… right?" Poppy questioned herself about this. After a while, the girls that were awake could see small specks of of white start to fall. Jocabed let out a light gasped when she saw this. A small smile formed across her face as she reached out the window.

"Snow," she happily said.

"Snow?" Poppy repeated. She reached her arm out as well and felt the chilly air. She wasn't lying, tiny delicate snowflakes were falling from the sky. Whenever an ice crystal would land on Poppy's hand, it lasted a couple moments before melting in her hand.

"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful," Jo whispered in delight. She looked down at her hand where a couple snowflakes rested. Unlike her sisters, the ice crystals lasted longer in her hands. Long enough for her to study the unique shape," You know, all snowflakes are unique in their own special way. No two snowflakes are alike."

"Hmp…. Never knew that," Bridget kept her eyes glued outside. The farther they went, the more snow they can see.

"The world is so mysterious and full of wonder, wouldn't you say?" Jo caught as many snowflakes as she can.

"I guess," Suki shrugged. She didn't understand how her little adoptive sister can be so happy. Sure Jo was scared for life after losing everything but with this girl, even after you suck up all the light in her world, she'll still have the energy to create her own light.

"Recorrer cada orilla, hay mucho más para te. El vida es maravilla, maravilla es vivir," Jo whispered to herself. Again with that quote. Poppy swore, if she didn't figure out what the heck her sister was saying anytime soon she's gonna yank her hair out," a kingdom where ice and snow falls from the sky, That's a dream come true!" Jo was clearly excited.

"I prefer the warmer weathers," Karma comment before cuddling with her sisters and going to sleep.

"Please don't let this kingdom be pure ice and snow," Satin silently begged.

"I don't think I'll survive it is," Chenille couldn't agree with her sister more.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Poppy added in. She couldn't be any more wrong. After a moment of silence, they finally entered what appeared to be a run down looking bridge. With every step the horses took, the bridge would creak and crack. The girls can feel the wood of the bridge shift side to to side as if it had been untouched for years. After they went across, they entered a dull looking town. People sleeping on the sides of the streets, animals running loose. Stores that were just closing up had shattered windows and broken doors. The streets look like they haven't been clean in ages.

"Well, this place sure has…. A humble…. Bobo, Bohemian lifestyle to it," Satin looked out the window only to be pulled back in by her sister.

"Yea right! I think the words your looking for is dirty, unsanitary and AH!" Before Chenille can finish her insults, the cart came to a sudden stop causing all 12 princesses to fall out of there seats.

"What happened?" Poppy pushed herself up and before she can look out the window, the door to the cart opened up.

"Sorry ladies, we have to stop here. Some of our wheels broke and came loose," T.G told them.

"Great, first our entire kingdom breaks apart and freezes and now we're stranded in the middle of a deadly, freezing, insalubrious town!" Chenille whined as she got up on her feet.

"Well deal with it sister!" Karma stepped up and pushed her sister out the door," Mom said we needed to get to our aunts place so we're going!"

"Going? You mean walk?" Maddy gasped in horror.

"What's wrong princess, your not scared of getting your precious little blue slippers dirty are you?" Smidge chuckled as she hopped off the carriage. Maddy placed her fists on her hips and glared at her sister.

"No I am not! It's just that this place isn't your typical….. How should I put it?" Maddy places a finger on her cheek and thought about the right word. All of sudden, the girls heard a loud crashing sound close behind. All the girls jumped and placed their attention to where it came from.

"STREET RAT! COME BACK HERE!" A little boy no older than 17 ran across the streets with a vendor man screaming and chasing him. The 17 year old boy was running while pushing a wheelbarrow. He zoomed past the girls nearly knocking them off their feet.

"Excuse me ladies, poor boy coming through!" the boy cried out. At the end of the group, Suki wasn't quick enough to jump to safety. Before she can even blink, she felt the pressure of the wheelbarrow push her to the ground.

"OW! That hurt!" Suki cried out as she held onto her arm where the wheelbarrow hit her. The poor boy was a few feet away until he heard her. He stopped in his tracks and looked back to see the curly haired girl laying down in pain. Before one of her sisters can come to her aid, the poor boy took out a small bag of ice. He rushed to her side and helped her sit up.

"I am so sorry ma'am. I was in a rush and couldn't stop," He gave her the pack of ice and placed it on her arm," Here, the ice should reduce the blood flow and help out with the bruise."

"Thank you," Suki thanked as she held onto the ice pack.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN RUN AWAY FROM ME KID!" The man was coming closer. The poor boy hopped on his feet and ran off without another word and leaving his wheelbarrow behind. The vendor man zoomed across the princess and to the wheelbarrow," Dang nabbit! I'll catch that little rat one day. Stealing my stuff!"

The man angrily lifted the wheelbarrow and pushed it back towards his store. All the girls looked back at their sister.

"You alright Suki?" Bridget helped her up.

"Yea, just a bit bruised," Suki answered as she cringed from the pain.

"Can we get going now. I don't know how much longer we can stand here until we get mugged or stabbed," Maddy shivered at the sight around her. Shady looking people walking the dirty streets. Depressed looking vendors, thiefs tackling other thieves into dark allies. This didn't go unnoticed by Poppy. She pulled Harper close to her, feeling like she needed to be protective of all her sisters.

"Let's get to our aunt's place fast," Everyone did as their eldest sister said. They all stood close in one big group and went on foot.

 _ **At a shoe shop**_

The 17 year old poor boy ran across the streets until he made it to a shoe shop. He rushed inside, passing several other young boys.

"Whoa whoa, Cooper, where's the fire?" A chubby blond boy watched as his friend ran in.

"Probably still outside trying to catch me," Cooper referred to the man that was chasing him.

"You stole again?" A man no older than 19 came into the room with a basket of supplies. He had very pale skin, brown curly hair, blue eyes and wore a pair of glasses.

"Kinda Jp, I tried to take a wheelbarrow that he had displayed outside his shop," Cooper answered and looked away. He wasn't proud of his stealing ways but in this town full of desperation, he felt like he had no choice.

"Where's the wheelbarrow?" The chubby boy told him.

"I left it Biggie. I rammed into this girl and….." Cooper stopped in mid sentence. He looked away from his friends and down at the floor,"... I stopped to help her and ran off."

"Help her? Haha, don't make me laugh," a blond boy with light white skin came into the room behind Jp," If I taught you anything Cooper, it's that in this town, it's everyman for himself. What was the _real_ reason you stopped to help this _girl_?"

"Guy Diamond please. Can't a guy just help a girl out?" Cooper turned away from his friends. He headed towards a room until Guy Diamond saw a string of silver hang from his pocket. A smirk created on his face before he zoomed towards him. He swiped that string of silver out of Coopers pocket and held it up.

"Wowza! Look at this beauty!" Guy Diamond smiled at what he was looking. It was Suki's necklace. The purple treble note sparkled in the light and the silver chain shined brighter than anything in the room they were in.

"Guy Diamond give that back!" Cooper lunged towards the boy and tried to grab the necklace out of his hands. Guy Diamond ducked and slipped between Coopers legs.

"You gotta catch it first!" Guy Diamond laughed as he ran across the room with Cooper close behind him.

"You stole from a girl? Cooper that's unlike you," Biggie gasped.

"They grow up so fast. Don't you think?!" Guy Diamond chuckled. He hopped onto a table and raised his arm so Cooper would have to jump for the necklace.

"I'm a year older than you! Please give it back! I….. I'm not proud of what I did," Cooper admitted with a heartfelt sigh.

"Awe, be proud boy. You just got us like months worth of dinner," Guy Diamond hopped off the table and hit the necklace against the table to see if it was real," Amethyst crystal. Silver chain. How much do you think we can get with this?"

"No one is trading this for anything," Jp swiped the necklace from Guy Diamond ls hands and placed it into Coopers hands," As the honest man that you are, I'm sure you'll return this to that girl you stole it from."

Cooper gave a small nod before placing the gem back in his pocket.

"I guess I was just tempted. I didn't even know she had it until I stopped to help her," With that, Cooper walked away into a room. He came back out with a barrel full of supplies," Can we just get back to work?"

"Sure, those shoes won't make themselves," Jp sat into his seat and began his work. He was the oldest out of all his friends. In fact these guys were his only friends. Ever since as children, Jp had been working his life away. He can't remember a time when he wasn't working. He worked in his father's shoe shop for years now. His father taught him everything he needed to know. How-to make a sturdy working boot, elegant dress shoes, you name it. Sadly for him, his parents left the town for a business trip when he was around 14. For over 5 years, he's been waiting for their return. For 5 years, he has formed a team of young boys to help him in his shoe shop. He was determined to keep the family business running. But the more years that pass by, the less willing he was to live. What was the purpose of life if he couldn't get what he wanted? Why was he even alive in the first place? All he was doing was suffering to keep his friends fed and alive while being the honest leader they needed.

"I'm telling you, it's like everyday keeps getting harder and harder," a teenage boy walked into the room. He had pale skin and his long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Behind his came in a boy with light skin and deep black hair. He looked irritated by the boy that was talking," I mean, how much more do you want? 3 coins for an apple? What a waste."

"Will you stop complaining Creek. At least we got something to eat," the raven haired boy mumbled under his breath.

"Punching the vendor man didn't help tho, did it Branch?" Creek mumbled back at him.

"That man had it coming. Calling me a street rat," Branch angrily dropped his bag of supplies and flopped onto a chair.

"I take it your day went well," Jp asked even when he knew the answer.

"Splendid! Marvales! Life is a wonder!" Branch sarcastically answered.

"Honestly, I'm starting to feel like life is against us," Creek comment as he took his seat," We only sold 10 pairs of shoes today."

"Well at least we got something," Biggie tried to look at the bright side.

"Yea, that something being a nice tall glass of disappointment and a dinner plate of despair," Branch rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"What happened?" Jp already knew something was up.

"After selling those shoes, Creek decided to surprise you all by spending the money to get some fruit. Only he went a couple coins over," Branch began to explain," And what does he do? He starts attempts to bergen with the guy even tho this guy was clearly not gonna lower the price. It began to become a useless fight so I tried to get Creek to stop."

"Only for Branch to end up tackling the guy to the ground," Creek finished.

"He had the nerve to call me a street rat. If that wasn't enough, he insulted everyone I know," Branch defended himself.

"We had to pay for all the damages! Meaning we had to use all the money we gained today thanks to Branches anger issues," Creek added into the argument," What else can go wrong today!?"

All this tensions was really getting into Jp. He angrily nailed down a shoe only for it to rip thanks to all the stress and annoyance.

"For all that's holly! Why is this shoe so stubborn!" Jp grabbed the sole of the shoe and threw it out the window in frustration.  
"We kinda needed that," Creek shoved Jp to the side so he can open the back door.  
"Hey hey, I wouldn't…" Cooper rushed over to him to stop him but it was too late. Creek swung open the door letting a giant pile of snow land on him and consume him completely,"... Do that."  
Creek punched the snow away and came out as angry as someone can be. The snow around him was melting just by the heat of his anger.  
"That's it!" Creek kicked and punched the snow as if he was fighting it," I can't take this  
anymore! I don't know how much more of this stupid poor life I can take before I completely lose my mind!"  
"Yeesh, I think he already lost it," Cooper mumbled to Jp and Biggie.  
"He's gonna lose more than his mind if he doesn't stop destroying the shop soon," Jp bake mumbled. He got up on his feet and marched up to the craze man.  
"I can't take it anymore!" Creek grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at whatever he saw first. It wasn't until Jp bake grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a good smack to the face.  
"Keep it together man! We all made another since kids that we would stick together no matter how hard life gets," Creek pushed the older man aside and turned his back in him. He crossed his arms and huffed in anger.  
"Aren't you all tired of living this poor life? Suffering every single day of our lives to survive?,"  
"It's not that bad," Biggie comment in his british accent.  
"Not that bad? What about your pet dog here? When was the last time he got a treat for being such a good boy?" Creek walked to the corner of the workshop and gestured at Mr Dinkles worn out bed," Is this what your dog deserves? A dirty old bed?!"  
"Creek, you need to relax. Remember your meditation exercises," Cooper tried to calm him and place a hand on his back, but Creek just smacked his hand away. Creek turned to look at Cooper and pointed at him.  
"You, I know for a fact, are tired of people discriminating you. All because your skin is as dark as night while were white as snow."  
"Well maybe I am!" Cooper pushed out of his chair and straighten up to look down at the boy," But this is my life. This is the life we were born in! And no one on earth can change that! So deal with it."  
Creek glared up at the tall boy. If he wasn't his most trusted friend he would be strangling the guy by now. He sharply turned away and hopped into his spot on the ground to sleep.  
"If only we were rich…."  
"Well unfortunately we're not," Jp tossed a pillow at his face to interrupt his sentence,"... Believe me Creek, if there was an opportunity to become the richest men on earth, I would have taken it by now."

"I gotta go," Branch picked up his jacket and went towards the door," It's really late and grandmother needs me home as soon as possible."

"Say hi to your grandma for me!" Biggie chimed.

"Will do," Branch said before leaving.

 _ **At the streets**_

Branch cuddled in his scarf and jacket, trying to see through the dark streets and through the falling snow. Not to far away, he came to a run down looking house. Instead of a door, Branch pulled back some curtains and entered his home. Just ahead was an elderly women sleeping on a ripped couch. She was sitting down with silver strands of hair gently laid upon her face while the rest was tied into a bun. Branch glanced over at the clock they had and saw it was nearly midnight. His grandmother had been waiting for him but sleep got to her first. The young boy pulled his grandmothers legs onto the couch and placed the warmest blanket he can find over her. The raven haired boy walked over to a second room and flopped down into a hard run down bed. He wasn't the type to complain about how hard his bed was or how he lacked a blanket. He was lucky he even had a roof over his head and a steady job that'll get them enough money to eat. He leaned down to take out a small book from under his bed. He opened it up and pulled out a pen. As always, he began to write,

 _Dear mom and dad, I hope you two are at peace in the afterlife. Grandmother is fine and I'm still doing my job with hardwork and heart…. But sometimes I feel like there has to be more to life than making shoes just so we can eat. Is this really all life is? Working and working until the day we die? In a kingdom where music is band, and ignorance is bliss, there isn't much opportunity…_

Branch took a small moment to think. He took a look at the lit candle by his bed. He watched as it flickered and light up a small portion of the room. His blue eyes soon turned back to the journal before him.

… _.. Life is like a lit candle. Before it is lit up, there is darkness, once the flame is placed it lights up, but when the end comes it goes dark once more and never lights up again. Before life there is darkness until the day you are born. Life is full of light and brightness, but when it's time, we all fall back into darkness. What is the purpose? You two always said that life was precious but what is so precious about my life. A life of a street rat full of misery. Sometimes I wonder why I even continue with life…._

After a brief pause, Branch reread everything he just wrote. Once he was done, he shut his journal, tucked it back under his bed, blew out the candle, and drifted back to sleep.

 **Well that's that. Sorry for longer waits. College takes a lot of time and my only free time now is every weekend if I'm lucky. So expect updates almost every Saturday or Sunday. Also, that one quote in spanish isn't really mine. If you read my author's note you'll know I got some ideas from "Small foot" well that quote is one of them. And a very important quote to remember. Actually, this story is gonna carry some symbolism so keep an eye out for that.**


	3. Pirates Life

**( Crawls into my room like a demonic being with a backpack weighing a ton on my back. Throws the backpack across the room and burns it like there is no tomorrow then flops on yhe bed and pasess out from exhaustion.) Freedom….. Sweet sweet freedom….**

 **Ok no really! I had final weeks for my college and boy weren't the mentors kidding. College is a full time experience and takes a whole lot of devotion and dedication. But I passed all my classes with one B and the rest with an A! Yes! Winter break is here so here is my next chapter! And a long one too….. Come on you all know me by now! I love to read and write. That's why my favorite class is English.**

 **neomoon585- glad you understood it. Can't wait for you to see how it connects to the story. And yes, I am certain as well both sides will find light... But a a price.**

 **Jp- You shoukd see the movie when you have the chance. In my opinion, it's really underrated. It may not be for everyone but it's still a film worth watching at least once**

 **T.G- Glad to hear I almost got it right. Don't worry, I made sure to make you a fun charater, I just needed you to be serious for that scene since itvwas life or death situation.**

 **Rebey- Hmmmm... I would wait until the end to see who can be king. Because telling you right now, not everyone will make it to the end of this story...**

The girls soon found themselves at the gates of a gray and old looking castle.

"Wow….. This is a…. interesting design," Satin said in a questioning tone. The girls entered and walked towards the main door. Poppy gave a light knock only for the door to crack open slightly.

"Hello?" Poppy peeked inside and looked around first before entering.

As the princess walked across the ballroom, They couldn't help but notice how dark and dim the place was. The thick black curtains blocked any kind of light to enter the place. The walls were painted with dull colors such as gray or brown.

"Well, this is… yea I can't think of anything," Satin didn't like their new homes sense of style.

"Where is our aunt?" Poppy thought out loud. Suddenly, a loud banging sound echoed across the empty room. Everyone jumped and turned towards where the sound came from. One by one, 6 little kids between the ages 8 and 11 ran out a door with supplies.

"Excuse me!" A blond and pale teenage boy ran past them like his life depended on it. Another pale tan girl rammed into Suki nearly knocking her down.

"Oops! Sorry!" She quickly apologized in a frighten tone before running off.

"Gotta move!" A brown skinned boy zoomed past them like nothing.

"ANNA DON'T WANT TO GET PUNISHED!" A chubby girl rammed into every single princess knocking them all off their feet and continued running at full speed.

"Move it or lose it ladies!" A tough looking girl jumped over the girls and followed her friends. The very last one to come out of the door was a very petite girl who was having trouble carrying a heavy bucket of water.

"Wait for me you….." Before she can finish, she tripped over her maids dress and fell over, spilling the entire bucket of water over the 12 princesses.

"Ew, mop water…." Maddy cringe in disgust as she rinsed her hair.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" The little girl picked herself up and tried to help each and every princess up," It's so hard to look where I'm going without my glasses."

The little girl reached into her pocket and placed some round glasses with blue lenses on. Before she can say another word, a harsh voice boomed across their ears.

" _Olleasus_!" A lady marched out of the room the kids just came out of. She harshly pulled onto the girls arm and pulled her close to her face," What did I say about making a mess of things!?"

"I I I I….. "The little girl stuttered upon her words. She had no idea what to say to her master.

"It's alright!" Poppy was the first to speak and get up," It was an accident!"

"I am her queen. What I say goes and this young maid shouldn't go against my words!" The so called queen let go of the little girl letting her fall to the ground.

"I'm sorry Queen Chef. I didn't mean to go against anything. I was just falling behind my work and…."

"Well, see to it that it never happens again! Remember! Your family _owes me_! _I_ _own_ you!"

"Miss Chef, please. It was an accident, she didn't see us here," Poppy tried to defend the little girl. Chef glared at the eldest princess as if she had said something wrong.

"And who are you?" She asked in a cold tone.

"We are Queen Emeralds daughters….. Your nieces," Poppy nervously explained to the queen

"Ah yes, My sisters 12 children. I heard you were coming. Your coronation didn't go as planned did it?"

"No…. No it didn't," Poppy bowed her head at the memory 2 days ago.

"As princesses you should know the type of respect you should be treated with by commoners like Olleasus here,"

"Ocellus, my name is Ocellus," the girl said with her fragal little voice.

"The point is, my little oriental maid here is working to pay off her family's debt to me. And her work so happens to be to serve you girls at hand and foot….. But most of all serve me," Chef explained as she patted Ocellus short black hair.

"I'm Korean," Ocellus whispered in response to the word oriental.

"Whatever, since your here, take these ladies to their room will you," Chef pushed the little girl forward and walked away.

"Yes my queen," Ocellus bowed and motioned for the girls to follow them.

As they walked, Chef remained quite making the girls feel awkward with her.

"Don't you want to know our names?" Poppy asked.

"I don't see why that's important," Chef shrugged her shoulders.

"We're gonna be living here so I assume you would like to know our names," Poppy stated to Chefs annoyance.

"Fine, name yourselves,"

"Well, I'm Poppy. The oldest," she introduced herself.

"Bridget, second oldest," The girl said with a smile but when chef didn't even look at her, she awkwardly looked back down.

"The names Suki," the curly haired girl told her aunt. Chef glanced over at her but said nothing.

"We're Satin and Chenille," the twins said together hoping it would be funny to their aunt. Nothing.

"The names Smidge madam!" The short girl proudly said.

"My, what a rough voice for a toddler," Chef insulated Smidge shortness. This didn't go unnoticed by her as she mumbled.

"I'm 14,"

"Karma. And this is Maddy and Wisp," The green haired girl smiled politely.

"The names Rebey and this is Harper, the youngest," Rebey revealed.

"And I'm Jocabed. Jo for short," the 11 year old happily said. Chef glanced at the little girl and noticed right away how different she looked.

"You're rather….. Tanned don't you think?" the queen asked.

"I'm adopted. I come from a hispanic background," Jo explained.

"Ah yes, your mother always did have a sense of humor," this comment by Chef confused Jos young mind.

Up the stairs and across the halls, the little korean girl led the group to a big door," This is your room, it's not exactly ready yet."

The little girl opened the doors to reveal the same kids that were running cleaning up the huge room.

"Attention!" Chef cried out. All the kids looked up in worry when they heard her voice. Chef took out a whistle from under her dress and blew into it. She did a certain pattern that seemed to cause all the kids line up in a line. To the rhythm of the whistles, the kids marched like soldiers and lined up in front of the princesses,"On my signal, announce your name and age to my nieces!"

With each blow of her whistle, the kids stepped up and announced themselves.

"Sander! I am 10!" The blond boy announced as he took a step forward then back.

"Silver!" The tanned girl announced," I am 9!"

"Sam! I am 10!" The tough looking girl announced.

"Gallus! 11!" The brown skinned boy introduced himself.

"Ocellus! 8 years old,"

"Anna! 9!" The chubby girl claimed as she marched back in line.

"Good, now I'm sure you don't mind filling in these ladies on my rules around here," Chef didn't exactly ask, more like cued the kids to explain.

"No singing!" Anna said.

"No dancing!" Ocellus claimed.

"No questioning Chefs rules and words!" Silver said.

"Everyone must do their part!" Gallus told them like a soldier.

"No one can or will leave this kingdom without her hineses permission!" Sander revealed.

"Everyone must be in bed by twenty one hundred!" Sam told them like she was in the military. This meant that the princesses had to be in bed by 9.

"And most of all….." Chef signaled them to say the final command.

" _No one leaves on the streets after midnight!"_ All six kids said in unison.

"Why midnight?" Jo asked.

"The streets can get rough at that time," Chef cleared up.

"And not leaving this kingdom without permission? What if a civilian needs to travel? For business, family…"

"Anyone who leaves will be punished. What they need must be told to me!" Chef snapped back at Jo.

"But no singing? Dancing? What's that all about? Why…."

"Curiosity killed the cat my dear," Chef interrupted the little girl," You keep asking questions around my kingdom, it can lead to some unwanted discoveries."

"Like what? What…."

"Anyways!" Chef clapped her hands together to stop the couriose girl from talking," if the chatterbox doesn't mind being quiet for a while, my servants here will gladly give you a tour of this place tomorrow morning. Right?"

"Right!" The young six answered. With that, Chef left the room. The moment she did, the kids gathered around Ocellus.

"Ocellus! What happened to you?!" Sander ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her for a hug.

"I tripped and ran into the princesses," Ocellus hugged her friend back. One by one, all the kids gathered around her and formed a group hugged.

"Did Queen Chef get mad?" Sam asked in a very worried tone.

"No," Ocellus assured her with a smile on her lips, only for it to fall into a frown. She bowed her head and closed her eyes," Not yet of course."

Feeling bad for their friend, the group hugged her tighter before releasing the hug and looking at the 12 girls.

"Your room is almost ready your highnesses," Silver bowed to them as the rest went back to work.

"You don't have to call us that deary." Satin assured the little girl," I'm Satin, these are my sisters, Chenille, Poppy, Bridget, Suki, Maddy, Karma, Harper, Rebecca, Jocabed, Wisp, and Smidge."

"Nice to meet you," Sander was rather surprised at how nice these girls were.

"You seem rather shocked," Poppy took notice right away.

"I… guess you can say that. It's just that we aren't use getting attention from higher classes," Sander answered.

"I must be inclined to agree, as we commoners are not allowed to socialize with royalty," Ocellus added in.

"You don't need to worry about us honey," Chenille placed her suitcase on her bed.

"We like to talk to everyone. Commoners or royalty," Harper happily told them.

"OH BOY OH BOY!" Anna wrapped her arms around the blue haired girl. Harpers face started to turn into a light shade of blue as the world around her started to turn dark," Oh Anna is so happy that princesses are nice and not cruel like queen!"

Anna hugged Harper even tighter. Harper could hear sweet angelic music fill her ears.

"Anna promises that Anna will do everything she can to make pretty princess happy!" A light! A light was just up ahead, calling to Harper," We will be the best of friends!"

The young princess can see her late grandmother. Smiling and asking her to join the sweet sensation of death.

"Anna! Your gonna suffocate the poor girl!" Sam pulled Anna off of Harper letting the girl fall to the ground and breath. She literally can feel her soul get sucked back into her body.

"So. Where are you girls from?" Sander asked them.

"Rainbow Kingdom. I was supposed to be crowned queen today but….. It didn't go as planned," Poppy said that last part with a lot of force in her voice.

"really? What happened?" Gallus spoke for the first time after the introduction. The young boy had a very tough look to him. He rarely made eye contact with anyone and was really quiet. The girls looked at one another as if asking who was gonna tell him first. Sighing at the fact no one was gonna say it, Rebey pushed the answer out of her.

"Our kingdom…. Kinda…. broke apart….. And got drowned in icy cold water….." right after Rebey said this, everyone heard a loud crashing noise. Everyone looked to the side to see Silver had dropped one of the girls luggage. Her face was paler by the second, her breathing became very unsteady and her eye's were as wide as they can get.

"Your kingdom….. Sunk into the…." Silvers hands became shaky, her eyes widen in fear, and her face was turning pale.

"Silver?" Gallus was the first to notice the girls change in mood. Silver didn't answer. She instead pressed her back against the wall and held onto her heart. Her breathing became rapid, her eyes were as wide as they can get. Even wider. She began to shake her head no and pulled her long black hair as if she was trying to release stress.

"It's…. It's happening…." She whispered in great fear. Gallus dropped everything and rushed over to her.

"Nothing is happening. Your safe. I promise," Gallus held onto her hands but Silver pulled them back and glared at him.

"How can you say that?!" she screamed so loud is nearly shook the room. She slid her back down against the wall and hugged her knees hiding her face from everyone.

"Because it's true. Silver, Nothing's gonna happen to you.

"I…. I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong," Rebey felt guilty for causing this little girl so much stress. All of Silvers friends huddled around her and tried their best to soothe her.

"Nothing that you said," Ocellus made sure to clear it up," Silver has post traumatic stress disorder…."

Before Ocellus can say more, the room was filled with screams from the poor girl.

"Silver! It isn't real! Your not gonna die," Gallus kept trying to snap her out of it.

"She came from another kingdom. Unfortunately, her kingdom got destroyed. From what she told us, her Kingdom sunk into freezing water that froze everything in sight. She's the only survivor," Ovellus tried to explain as fast as she could. At this point Silver was crying rivers of tears. Everyone helped her up on her feet and took her away.

"Sorry we couldn't finish your majesties," Sanders apologized as the others took Silver away," When she get triggered, we have to take her to her room to calm down."

"I'm so sorry. If I knew I would never have brought up anything that would…." Rebey was interrupted by Ocellus.

"It's quite alright princess. There was no way you could have know. If you need anything at all, just give a call with these little strings."

The little girl pulled onto a string that hanged near one of the beds. The string rang a bell repeatedly.

"We'll hear it from our room and come right away. Each bell will summon someone different," Sanders said as he and Ocellus began to leave.

"Hope we can give you princesses the happiness you desire," those were Ocellus last words before closing the door. All 12 princesses looked at each other as if asking what to do now.

"I guess this is our new home now," Poppy said as she placed her luggage on her bed.

"I really tired," Harper yawned. Poppy looked at the time to see it was 11:30.

"It's really late, we need to sleep," Poppy pulled onto her sheets and slipped into bed.

"What are we gonna do tomorrow?" Wisp rolled her wheelchair to her bed. With some help from Karma, she was able to slip in.

"I don't know. But for now we should get some rest. We had a hard day today," Poppy told everyone," Good night girls."

"Goodnight," All the princesses responded. Slowly, each princess drifted to sleep.

 _ **At the dock of the kingdom**_

"Main target spotted," A man told his group. It was only 10 before midnight and a ship full of dirty looking people were sailing their way to the kingdom.

"Should I prepare th' crew captain?" A female asked him.

"Wake em up. We loot th' castle first then th' town," The so called captain ordered his first mate.

At the doc, all the workers were gone and asleep in their homes. Making it easier for the ship to stop by the doc unnoticed. One by one, the crew hopped off with sacks and weapons. One certain crew member was struggling to even take his sword out. He couldn't be any older than 18 like Poppy. He wore a black sleeveless jacket and a brown shirt. His pants were torn, accompanied by some black boots decorated with chains. His light brown hair was cut into a mohawk. Once he slipped it out, he tripped over the edge of the ship and fell straight into the ocean.

"That could've gone well," the 18 year old boy whispered to himself once he swam up for air. He swam to the surface where the rest of the crew was waiting.

"Nice one squirt," the captain laughed," you keep this up you'll be just like me in….. 50 years or so."

"The names Archer," the boy answered back.

"Whatever little bro," the captain rolled his eyes and prepared his sword.

"Why do we always rob this kingdom?" Archer struggled to get back on deck.

"Because, this kingdom may look poor but I read somewhere that there is a hidden treasure somewhere here. A room full of wonders, treasures, magic. And I'm gonna find it," The captain pointed to one direction with his and ordered," Half of you, grab whatever you find in town. The other half, follow me to the castle….. That includes you squirt."

The captain pulled Archer by the collar of his jacket and pulled him onto the dock.

"Why do we always do this? Can't we do anything else but rob towns?" Archer asked.

"That's a pirate's life for ya. If you weren't ready to take on such a job, then you should've just stayed home with your baby friends," His older brother laughed and pushed Archer ahead," Now come on, let's go to the castle."

 _ **In the castle**_

Still unable to sleep, Poppy looked at the ceiling of her room. Plian, gray, dull, the complete opposite of what's she use to. She sighed and tried to get comfortable but no matter what, she couldn't get all these negative feelings away. Why did this have to happen to her. To her family. At this very moment she felt like she was tied down by strings of chains. Not allowing her to move forward and keeping her in one place. It was times like this when she felt trapped. Like everything was out of her control. She closed her eyes and waited to drift to sleep, that is until she heard footsteps scattering across the halls. Poppy snapped open her eye's and lifted her head up a bit. She looked at the door and remain quiet. Sounds of footsteps echoed across the halls.

A part of her told her to go back to sleep, but another part said she needed to peek. To at least see what's going on a report to her aunt right? Slowly and quietly, Poppy slipped out of bed and placed her slippers on. She tiptoed across the room on her way to the door. Holding Her breath, Poppy ge tally placed her hand on top of the door knob. Doing her best to not make a single noise, she turned the metal knob and cracked open the door. Nothing she can see so far. She opened it up even more to the point where she can stick her head out. She was just able to capture a glance of a few shadows passing by on the walls before disappearing in the corner. Poppy moved out of the room and quietly followed the direction she saw the shadows.

As she got closer, she heard a couple of voices.

"What time is it?" A soft voice said.

"Shhh, it's almost midnight," A male voice answered.

"Do you all think these girls can be the ones!" A hyper voice cheered.

"Shut it Silver! We can't let Queen Chef hear us," Once at a turn, Poppy glanced over to see the 6 kids running across the hall. Couriose to see why they were up so late, Poppy hurried behind them.

The kids were acting very strange in her opinion. Ocellus pinned her ear against the walls and was writing in her notepad.

"We've been here already. It's not within the walls of the halls," Ocellus told them.

"It has to be somewhere. King Peppy said we had to find the door or else all the kingdoms in the world will be in danger," Gallus revealed. Poppy gasped at the mention of her father's name.

"Poppy?" The pink haired princess jumped when she heard a voice behind her. She looked behind her to see all 11 of her sisters behind her.

"What are you girls doing?" Poppy whispered.

"Us? What about you? Your here and it's almost midnight," Bridget told her.

"I… I just wanted to see something," Poppy answered.

"What? What is it?" Jo walked past them and was about to walk pass Poppy. The princess pulled her little sister back to make sure she wasn't seen by the others.

"Poppy you ok?" Suki asked. She took a few steps forward only for Poppy to block her with her arm.

"We should go back to bed," she finally told them. She turned all her sisters around and was just about ready to take them away. Until a loud shattering noise echoed across the halls of the castle.

"What was that!?" Wisp gasped. All 12 princesses looked around for a short while before Poppy signalled everyone to run back to their room. Doing as she said, all the girls scurried across the halls and headed back to where they room was.

"What's going on?" Little Harper asked in a frighten voice.

"Just keep runni…." Poppy's sentence came to a halt just like her feet when she saw someone up ahead. She pushed all her sisters behind her and looked ahead to see who it was.

It wasn't anyone she recognized. It was a tall male figure, sliding through the window he just broke. Right behind him entered two more figures. Each with different shapes but the one thing they all had in common was a human skull symbol drawn into their clothing. Knowing they shouldn't be here, Poppy urged her sisters to move back. She waved her hand behind her to signal them they needed to back away. They all did as she wanted and tip toed back.

As they all slowly backed away, Maddy took this as a chance to run. She spun around and sprinted around five feet before accidentally tackling a potted plant causing a loud crashing sound. All the girls cringed at the sound and glanced ahead at the group of intruders. Of course, they looked at their direction, locking eyes with the girls in utter silence.

"... Hi…." Poppy nervously laughed and gave a shy wave. With no reaction, the leader of the group pointed towards them without uttering so much a single word. Knowing this wasn't a good sign, Poppy spun around and pushed her sisters forward," Run run run!"

They all wasted no time. The girls ran to separate directions.

"Who are they?!" Rebey cried out as she ran behind Maddy, and Karma who was pushing Wisp in her wheelchair.

"Pirates! They must've come to rob the castle!" Karam answered. The three girls were running so fast that everything they past by was a blur. It wasn't until Wisp screamed out when Karma realized too late how fast they were going.

"Karma! Stairs!" Wisp shouted at the top of her lungs. Karma came to a big halt. A halt so strong it knocked Wisp off her wheelchair. The poor 11 year old girl rolled down the stairs till she made to the bottom.

"Wisp!" Karam, Maddy and Rebey cried out. The three girls hurried down the stairs to help their sister.

"Over there!" They heard a males voice cry out. Out of nowhere, Maddy, Karma and Rebey felt someone wrap their arms around them and hold them back.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Karma squirmed in the pirates arms.

"You don't know who your dealing with!" Rebey shouted," We are the princesses of the Rainbow Kingdom! Our aunt is the queen!"

" Queen huh?" The captain of the pirates was very intrigued by her words,"Bring them back to the ship! We'll hold them for ransom. Let's see how much that queen would give for her little princess."

"Oh nice going Rebey," Karma glared over at her to which Rebey responded with a nervous smile and shrug. The pirates lifted the three girls up along with Wisp and headed for the door. Not giving up so soon, Karma brought the pirates hand between her teeth and bit down with all her might. As expected, the pirate stopped to grunt in pain letting Karma place her feet back on the ground. She slid out of his arms but the pirate wasn't letting her arm go.

Copying her sisters move, Rebey did the same only this time she was able to slip away and run backup the stairs. Out of instinct, Rebey pulled out her bow and arrow from her nightgowns pocket ready to aim and shoot. Only she had no idea what to shoot. Karma was struggling with the pirate while Maddy was holding on for dear life on a pillar with a pirate trying to pull her away.

Showing up near the stairs, Jo paused at the edge and looked at the sight below. She looked around to see any solution to help her sisters. Her eye's landed at the chandelier above. The giant thing was being held up by some chains that was tied to a lever. The young girl ran to the were the chains was in reach, slipped her arm between the bars of the railing, grabbed it and tied to the bar. As she did all this she was quickly counting in her head and looking at the direction the pirates were at. It took 15 seconds to set it up but soon it was ready, Jo ran towards Rebey who was ready to shoot at the pirate that had Karma.

"Karma! Look out!" Jo shouted as she grabbed Rebeys arms and pointed the arrow away from her target causing her to shoot her arrow towards the lever. Karma looked up to see what her sister had done.

"What did you do that for?!" Rebey shouted at her. The arrow hit the lever causing it to switch down. Meaning that the chains had to pull the chandelier up but since it was tied to the metal bars, the chains pulled onto them. The metal bars began to bend towards where the pirate that had Maddy. Once the pressure was too much, the metal broke away and the chain snapped causing it to fall towards where Maddy and the pirate were. Maddy ducked while the metal smacked the pirate in the face. With the chain broken, the chandelier began to fall

Thinking fast, Karma spun herself to swing the pirate on the spot of the falling chandelier. Just like she expected, the chandelier smashed onto the pirate setting her free.

"Oh," Rebey realized what her older sister did. Jo glanced at Rebeys hands to see the bow.

"You sleep with a bow and arrow in your pocket?" Jo pointed at the bow.

"Emergency purposes," Rebey simply responded.

"What happened? We heard a loud crash?" Poppy cane into the scene with the others. All the girls rushed down the stairs to help Maddy and Karma up.

"Pirates. Chef never warned us about pirates," Maddy told her.

"Maybe Chef didn't want to scare us?" Smidge thought out loud. Poppy counted her sisters to make sure they were all still here.

"Maddy, Karma, Rebey, Jo…. Wait…. Where's Wisp?" The second Poppy said her name, everyone's gaze turned to the open door.

 _ **In the town**_

"Let me go!" Wisp struggled to set herself free. All across the town, pirates were running in and out of homes and stores with goods and food.

"Get your hands off my stuff!" At Branches house, his grandmother was swinging around a frying pan at the pirates that were taking her food. It wasn't like they were gonna listen. The pirates grabbed her pan and swung it away from her as they left with their belongings.

"Not so fast!" Branch pulled onto a rope that was hanging from the wall causing a net to pull up and capture some of the thieves," And to think my friends thought I was crazy to set traps in my own house. Ha! Who's crazy now?" Branch walked out of the house to see the pirates were setting all his traps he set up in front of his house. Some got their foot caught in bear traps, while others were tied in nets," Me! Crazy prepared."

With a smirk on his face, Branch took the bags that held their belongings away from the pirates. Soon, familiar screams filled the air. Not too far, he can hear Jp and his friends yelling at some pirates for taking their stuff.

"Here grandma," Branch gave the stuff back to the elderly lady and pushed her back into the house," go to the bunker, I'll let you know when to come out."

"Careful Branch," Rosiepuff gave her grandson a kiss on his head before headed back inside. The pale boy ran to the streets to where the shoe shop was.

On his way, he douged all the bombs and weapons the pirates were throwing. At the shop he can see his friends fight off the pirates.

"Get away you filthy heavens!" Jp smacked them away with a broom he got from the closet.

"Oh, please be careful not to make a mess" Biggie begged as the pirates pushed the displays down," Awe….. I just finished organising those through color."

Mr Dinkles was barking and yapping at all the strangers that were attacking his shop. He pulled onto one of their pants and got dragged out into the snow.

"Whoa Mr Dinkles," Branch pulled him away before the pirates can take him away too.

"Not the face! Anything but the face!" Guy Diamond came running out covering his face with a shoe box. Not seeing where he was going, he rammed into Branch and fell to the snow below," Branch?"

"Guy Diamond, where is everyone?" Branch asked him.

"Bomb!" Coopers voice shouted from the inside. Right away, he saw Jp, Cooper, Biggie and Creek run out with barrels, shoes, supplies and anything they can carry out of the store. Seconds when they left, the shoe shop exploded into bits.

"Oh no," Jp whispered under his breath as he watched his parents family business blow up.

"Back to the ship! Now!" One of the pirates shouted. As the thieves began to run back, Jp and the others ran back to the store to put out the fire. Branch was about to do the same until he heard a scream.

"Help! Help me!" A soft little voice that belonged to an innocent child. The 20 year old boy turned around to see the pirates taking Wisp away. Seeing that she was only kid, Branch ran after them.

"Please, I want to go home!" The little 11 year old was crying tears at this point.

"Quit your complaining!" The pirate got annoyed with her crying. In a split second, the pirate felt a sudden blow to his head. It was strong enough to knock him down and drop the handicapped girl. Wisp saw a brick land near the her and pirate it hit.

"You alright?" Branch asked her.

"Yes. Thank you," Wisp thanked. Branch grabbed her hands and tried to pull her up only for Wisp to let herself fall down on the snow," I can't walk. I need my wheelchair."

"Where's your family?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. We were attacked by the pirates as well. I'm afraid they might have taken them too," Wisp dried a few of her teats from her cheek.

"It's alright. You can be with me for a while until we find them," Branch picked the princess up and headed back to the shop.

"WISP! WISP!" All the girls were running around the town looking for their lost sister.

"You sure he went this way?" Bridget asked Karma who was tracking the pirate that took Wisp.

"Yes, these footprints are the same as the one that took her," Karma didn't take her eyes off the prints for one moment.

"Karma!" Poppy tackled her to avoid a horse that was running and pulling a cart.

"Fire! Move over everyone!" The people on the cart shouted. Karma looked at the footprints and frowned seeing they were nearly destroyed.

"How are we gonna find her now?" Poppy asked with the thought of her scared sister in mind.

"Over there!" One of the pirates pointed at the girls. He was standing with the captain of the pirates and his little brother," Those are the princesses!"

"Oh shoot," Poppy hopped i to her feet and pushed all her sisters to run.

"Archer, lead the group to those girls. Who knows how much ransom we can get for them," Archer nodded at his older brother and ran after them.

The girls were forced to split up from all the chaos that was happening. Carts crashing, fires starting, it was a miracle to even be alive right now.

"Where do we go?!" Smidge asked Suki. The two were running blindly across the streets until they took a turn. The girls soon found themselves in the arms of some pirates.

"Got you!" Archer grabbed onto Smidges arm. The one thing he wasn't expecting was the small princess flipping him over.

"Pick on someone your own size!" She shouted before running off. With the other pirate, Suki struggled in his arms.

"At least we still have one," Archer took the princess from his crew member and studied her," Hmm, princess of the Rainbow Kingdom. Pretty face, curly locks, bright eyes…. You should be worth a lot to someone. We can sell her away to…."

Before the pirate can say another word, Suki kicked him away and placed all her weight down causing herself to slip away from the pirates grasp. She got up right away and ran across the deep snow.

Back with Branch, the group was almost done putting out the fire. Wisp watched from a safe distance.

"Wisp!" She heard a familiar rough manly voice. Wisp turned around to be greeted by a loving tackle," Oh your ok!"

Smidge squeezed the life out of her.

"It's good to see you too Smidge, where are the others?" She asked.

"They're looking for you," Smidge answered before looking around her surroundings. Her face soon turned pale at realization," except Suki was right behind me."

"You left her behind?!" Wisp shouted in worry.

"Everything alright?" Branch came up to them.

"One of my sisters is lost!" Wisp told him. She held onto her heart tightly, just thinking of all the things that can happen to her,"What if she's been captured? What if they enslaved her already? They can force her to be part of their crew! She can become a dirty pirate and steal everything in sight and…."

"Whoa easy there girl," Cooper came into the conversation," We'll find her. Where did you see her last?"

The boys looked at Smidge.

Back with Suki, the girl was running across the icy roads. She lept over broke buildings, and ducked under some stands. One of them, she jump over the counter of a stand that was selling fish.

"Pirate!" The elderly man that was in charge of the stand swung a fish towards Suki like a weapon.

"Whoa, I'm not a pirate!" Suki tried to explain as she douged his hits. She ducked down and grabbed a basket to shield herself.

"You won't lay a single hand on my fish babies you survey dog!" the old man cried out as he smacked the basket with his fish.

"Your insane man!" Suki slipped under the stand and ran off. Unfortunately, some guards from the castle were running by.

"Pirate! She went that way!" The old man told them.

"Thanks for the tip," the captain of the guards headed to where he pointed.

Running at full speed, Suki found herself taking a turn to an ally.

"Hold it right there thief!" Through all the screaming and explosions, Suki can hear the voice of the guards call out to her. She turned around to see they were catching up to her. Not seeing where she was going, Suki tripped into another stand that was selling jewelry.

"Who are you?!" A young paranoid woman screamed when she saw the princess," Are you a pirate!? Answer me!"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to run into your store," Suki tried to apologise through the woman's scream of terror. The lady grabbed whatever she can find and hit her as hard as she can.

" Pirate! Thief of the sea!" The lady screamed. Suki crawled away from her only to be caught by one of the knights.

"Where are you going!?" He pulled onto her arm.

"Please! Let me go!" Suki begged," I'm not…."

"You're coming with…." before the knight can pull Suki any further, a tripped over some barrels that were rolling towards him. Feeling confused, Suki backed away only to be pulled again by her arm. Only this time she was pulled onto a platform by Cooper who found her first.

"Hold on tight!" Cooper warned the girl as he pulled out his knife.

"What are you doing?" Suki watched as Cooper cut the rope releasing the wooden barrels on the other side sending the platform they were on up.

"Stop right there!" The knight ordered only to be knocked down by the barrels. The platform stopped at the top of the building letting the two hop off and rush away.

Back with Poppy and her sisters, the 11 girls had found their way to each other again. They were rushing around town desperately looking for their last sister. Right after Smidge told them everything, the girls hurried to find her right away.

"Suki!? Where are you!?" Poppy called out to her.

"She's not at the market," Branch came back running to them.

"You sure?" Poppy asked him.

"As sure as I can be. Don't worry. My friends are searching downtown, and every shop there is. One of them is bound to find your sister," Branch tried to assure her.

"We couldn't find anyone!" Biggie came back with Guy Diamond," We searched all over downtown."

"She's not in the central area," Jp came running back with Creek.  
"She's not downtown! At the market! Workshop! Where else can we look!? Uptown?!" Smidge cried out and flopped down on a bench.  
"LOOK OUT!" a female voice screamed out.  
"Huh?" Smidge looked up and the second she did, she was greeted by fabric and wood collapsing on her.

"Smidge!" All her sisters cried out. Everyone huddled around where the crash was.

"What!... What happened!?" Smidge dug her way out and scanned the area, ready to attack anyone who landed on her.

"Sorry Smidge, got carried away," Suki moved all the debri off her along with Cooper. Once the two dug out, everyone heard the footsteps of the soldiers that were coming.

"Oh shoot," Cooper whispered to himself. He grabbed Suki's hand and sprinted to one side only to crash into another knight.

"GOT YA!" The knight held onto Coopers and Suki's arm," You two little pirates thought you can escape huh?"

"We're not pirate's. I promise!" Suki tried to explain but the knight wasn't listening. He threw Suki to the side and into the snow so he can pin both Coopers arms behind him.

"Take the boy," the knight tossed Cooper into the knights arms," We have a lot of unfinished business with this streetrat.

"No! Let him go! He didn't do anything wrong!" Suki hopped onto her feet and tried to convince the knights. She pulled onto one of their arms only to be pulled back by two other knights.

"Fiesty one," one of the knights held onto her arm while the other held onto her other arm. Suki kept pulling and kicking, trying to set herself free.

"What are you doing?! That's our sister!" Poppy cried out. She was about to rush to them but a line of knights held all 11 princesses back.

"Take the girl away!" One of the knights ordered. He pulled out his sword and slowly made his way towards Cooper,"We'll deal with the boy right now."

"What?! No!" Branch pushed himself in front of all 11 princesses but the knights still held him back. He was able to see the knight hold up his sword high into the winter air. Aiming straight for the poor boy," He isn't a thief! He never stole anything!"

Feeling like there was no other way, Poppy ducked under all the knights and slipped between their legs. The moment the knight swung his sword down, Cooper shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. Poppy dashed in front of Cooper and and spread her arms to shield him.

"Don't hurt him!" She commended. The sword cane swinging tiwtdd Poppy face causing her to cringe at the thought of being slaughtered. When she didn't feel the sharp blade slice her face, Poppy cracked open one eye to see the edge of the sword was nearly touching the tip of her nose.

"Who do you think you are?" the knight commanded to know. Poppy gulped down her fear and cleared her throat.

"I…. Am Poppy….. Princess of the Rainbow Kingdom and the niece of Queen Chef."

"Princess?" The knight repeated in confusion as he pulled away the sword.

"Niece of the Queen?" Jp gapsed along with the boys.

"Princess of the Rainbow Kingdom?" Branch whispered to himself in disbelief. One by one, the guards put away their swords and bowed on their knees to her.

"Forgive us your majesty. We heard about your arrival but we weren't expecting you to be here so soon. We would never do anything to upset anyone from the higher places," the captain sounded like he was pleading for his life. Poppy looked down in surprise at how everyone reacted. She couldn't tell if they were quivering from the cold or in fear. No matter what, Poppy cleared her throat and spoke up once again.

"Release my sister and her friend," the guards did as she ordered.

"Poppy!" Suki ran into her older sisters arms," I'm so happy you found me."

"From all the people she could free she choose this street rat," the captain scoffed as he pushed Cooper to the side of the snow.

"He's not a street rat," Branch mumbled as he pulled helped Cooper get back on his feet. What they didn't see was the necklace slipping out of Coopers back pocket. Once on his feet, Cooper began to walk away with his friends. That is until one of the guards shouted out.

"Hey! What is this?!" The guard picked up the necklace by the silver chain. Everyone looked at his direction.

"My necklace," Suki gasped. The guard tossed it to the young princess," How did it get here?"

"What were you doing with the princesses necklace?!" The captain pointed his sword at Cooper.

"I…. I… i was gonna give back! I swear!" Cooper put up his hands as if he was surrendering to them.

"Stealing from citizen is one thing, but stealing from the royal family is another!" The gard signaled for the rest of his team to arrest the boy.

"No, he isn't a thief!" Branch tried to say but it wasn't like anyone was gonna listen. The guards pulled Cooper's hands against his back and prepared to take him away.

"To The dungeon! The queen should decide what his punishment for stealing from the royal family should be," following his orders, all the guards pulled the boy away from his friends.

"Wait! You can't do this!" Jp ran up to Cooper but the captain pulled him back," He's just a boy!"

"What are you gonna do to him!" Branch demanded to know. The captain glared at the raven haired boy for talking so demanding to him.

"The day after tomorrow we'll have orders from the queen. But I wouldn't hold my breath," The captain of the guard pointed towards where the guards were dragging Cooper," People of his kind don't usually get set free easily in this kingdom."

"His kind?" Suki repeated in a questioning tone.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Jo asked. The captain of the guard looked down at the little hispanic girl. He studied her features but mostly on her tan skin. He kneeled down so he can be face to face with the 11 year old.

"It means your one lucky girl. Because if you weren't considered royalty then people of your skin color would be treated lower than dirt," with those words, Jos eyes widen in fright. She wasn't sure of what to make of these words. The guard stood up and left with the rest of his team.

 **That's all folks! And remember how I said this was originally a mlp fanfic? Keep an eye out for any mlp reference and easter eggs. I feel like since it was originally for mlp, might as well pay tribute right? If you spot them, don't be shy to say so, I would live to see any mlp fans here…. And besides, I like the name Ocellus.**


	4. The Other Side

**Whaaaaat!? Two chapters in the same week?! Well since I have so much free time might as well write as much as I can before going back to work on January 2. Anyways, let's get started and hope you like songs! Cause there are two of them in this chapter. Hope you don't mind. Also this is a filler chapter. Just to get things rolling already.**

 **Musiclover435- Glad you got one of the easter eggs.**

 **Reby Montana- Don't worry too much. Poppy will find a way to bring happiness. And come on! The books cost up to 50 dollars! You willing to owe me that much.**

 **TAPDANCING GIRAF- I was gonna write you in the last chapter but too much was going on. Don't worry you haven't been caught by the Sea Bear. Not yet of course.**

 **Jpbake- Yea I know the film isn't for everyone but we all have different taste…. As for my sisters, they are actually gonna drive my mom insane soon if they play the soundtrack one more time.**

"Your majesties please understand," Branch was following the girls back to their castle," Cooper is anything but a thief. He has never stolen anything in his entire life!"

The girls turned to look at him before glancing at Suki's necklace. Seeing what they were thinking, Branch tried to correct himself.

"Ok ok, so maybe this one time he did but at least give him a chance! He's one of my closest friends!" Branch begged"... One of my…. Only friends."

"Listen, I may be the princess but my aunt is still the queen. I don't know if I have any power over this situation….." Poppy answered him in a apologetic way,"... I'll try to have a talk with her but I guarantee nothing."

"Please tell her we'll do anything to bring him back. We can't afford to lose anyone. He's been with us since childhood," Branch made sure to tell her before Poppy entered the main gate. The girls shut the gate with Branch still on the other side. Poppy looked through the bars and at the raven haired boy.

"I'll try," Were her last words to him before turning back to follow her sisters. Inside, the girls all froze at the sight of an angry Chef.

"Who broke all this?!" She pointed at the broken balcony and chandelier. Rebey and Jo both pointed at each other at the same time.

 _ **At the bedroom**_

"One rule! Don't leave after midnight! And you go on and destroy half of the main room!" Chef yelled at them.

"But pirates!" Poppy tried to explain.

"I know about those filthy thieves! They've been targeting this kingdom for as long I can remember. Let my guards take care of it," Chef reached into her pocket and took out a key. She locked the door from the outside and was just about to shut it.

"Whoa whoa, what are you doing?" Bridget asked.

"Every night you girls will be locked in your rooms until 5 am," the room was full of gasps.

"Just because of tonight?!" Karma complained," I can't handle being stuck in one place!"

"Yea! I get a claustrophobic if…." Satins sentence was interrupted by Chef.

"You girls will stay in this room every night! No excuses!" She was just about to shut the door and leave until another voice came into the conversation.

"Um excuse me your majesty, Queen Emerald sent me here with the girls. May I see them for a while," a male voice asked.

"Make it quick. And shut the door when your done," Chef told him.

"Yes your majesty," T.G came into the room with an armful of lugged," Hello ladies, brought the rest of your stuff back."

"T.G where have you been? It's way past midnight?" Bridget asked him.

"Ah you know, trying to fix the cart is a lot harder than it looks," T.G explained.

"It took you until 1 am to fix a wheel?" Smidge asked. T.G thought back at what he had just been through

 _ **Flash back**_

"WEEEEEE!" T.G was sliding across the snow hills like a little penguin. He slip and slide across the icy roads, sled down the hills and made snowangkes at every corner of the town. He even made a small snowball," Awe, my lil snowball buddy. His name will be Cthulhu and he will be my Cthulhu."

At that moment he heard a loud banging sound. The pirates had come to attack and he had nowhere to hide. Except for a little snow fort he build to protect himself.

 _ **Back to the present**_

"Wheels are tricky," T.G answered," But enough about me, how's it been for all of you?"

"Horrible. First pirates and now we're gonna be locked in here every night!" Karma screamed out.

"Yikes, well, things will get better. Just wait and see," T.G set their luggage down and began to leave," Queen Chef isn't such a bad lady once you get to know her. Really…. Of course I never met her but still, I can see the good in others."

With that, he left and shut the door.

In their beds, Poppy couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. She looked at the clock to see it was 1 am now.

"What am I gonna do?" Poppy mumbled.

"are you gonna talk to Chef?" Suki asked her as she got comfy in her bed

"I want to…. But I've never done anything like this before. Having the power to define a citizen fate. Saying if he should die or not….. That's Chefs job not mine. I can't interfere,"

"There's a first time for everything," Suki shrugged.

"Yea but…. I don't want to fail an innocent soul,"

"If you don't try you will fail him,"

"I know!..." Poppy wined and threw herself back into bed," this is exactly what I was afraid of. Making choices that can affect others. Not knowing what to do or how to deal with these kinds of situations."

"Hmmm…. You know, Jo has been reading on laws and justice for a while," Suki suggested. The two girls looked at the young girl who was already fast asleep," maybe she can help."

"Maybe…. I'm just scared,"

"You promised that cute boy you would at least try," Suki reminded her.

"Yea…. I know…" Poppy sighed and thought about her sisters words. It took awhile for her to finally process every detail of what she just said," Suki!"

"What?!" The curly haired girl laughed," He is cute. Don't you think?"

"I… yea… kinda.… well… get your head out the clouds will you?" Poppy threw her pillow at her. Suki always did love to put her sisters in awkward situations.

"Alright alright, just trying to lighten up the mood before we sleep," Suki tossed her pillow back," Good night."

"Good night Suki,"

 _ **Morning**_

"Wake up!" Branch shook Jp awake. With the shoe shop destroyed, Biggie, Guy Diamond, and Jp stayed at Branches place to sleep.

"What… what is it…." Jp mumbled. He sat up and scratched his messy hair.

"This just came for you," Branch handed him an envelope," It's from the castle."

"The castle?!" This shot Jp fully awake. He took it right away and ripped it open.

"What's it say," Asked Branch.

"They want to meet with me at the castle right away. They say I have until 7 to show up if I want a chance to help Cooper," Jp answered him. Branch pulled him off the couch and hurried him out the door.

"What are you waiting for, go!"

"Wait, I have to get ready. Brush my hair, change…."

"It's 6:39 am, forget that stuff, hurry," Branch pushed him out of his house.

"Ok ok, I'm going!" Jp ran across the frosty floor and headed towards his destination.

 _ **At the castle**_

"Right this way," Poppy lead the boy across the castles halls. Jp was in great awe. Never has he seen the castle from the inside. It was so big, rich and overwhelming as well, "I talked it out with my aunt and we believe that there is a chance to save your friend."

"Really?!" Jps eye's lit up.

"Yes, we just need you to talk out a few details with one of the royal members and sign a contract," Poppy explained.

"I'm ready," Jp nodded. He was both excited and nervous. He had a chance to save Cooper but who was this royal member he had to talk to? A king that was a relative from another kingdom? A Countess? One of the royal guards, or maybe the queen herself. Jp gulped down in fear at the thought of an obligation with the queen.

"Here we are," Poppy opened the door to reveal a bar. Waiting at one of the counters was an eleven year old princess.

"Hello, my names Jo, I'm sure you remember me from yesterday's incident," Jo reached out her hand to shake his. Jp stared down at the kid for a while, letting his eyes blink in disbelief.

"Haha, real cute," Jp laughed at this, "No really, who am I supposed to talk to about my friends freedom?"

Suddenly Jp felt his shirt get pulled down. He banged his chin against the table to come face to face with an angry eleven year old.

"This is serious business Mr!" Jo let go of his shirt, "When it comes to what's important, I want to make sure I'm working with someone mature."

"Mature? Your just a kid….." Jp felt a small hand slap him across the face.

"I take my work seriously!" Jo pointed towards Poppy," Poppy! Bring us some glasses of milk please. And make them warm. You know I like warm milk. And while your at it, bring me oatmeal cookies, with a hint of cinnamon."

"Yes Jo," Poppy went to hurry up with the drinks.

"Now let's talk business Mr Jp," The little girl rolled out a contract," My aunt Chef says she'll set your friend free if we can make this deal before 8 o'clock this morning. We have precisely one hour to come to a conclusion. Now what we have so far, You and your workers will work for Queen Chef for 10 years to pay off your crimes,"

"How long? 10 years?! No way!" Jp cried out.

"It may seem a lot for one little crime but may I remind you Mr Jp….." Jo took out some files she had in her bag and showed it to him,"... Your worker Guy Diamond has some recorded crimes. Stealing from markets places, causing disturbance to the peace, false advertisement on his invention to make glass see through?"

Jo said that last one with a confused tone.

"Technicality that isn't false advertisement. The windows were very see through," Jp tried to cover this up even tho he knew he couldn't.

"Riiiight….. And then we have Biggie! The boy has a dog right?".

"Yes, Mr Dinkles," Jp confirmed.

"Has this dog have his shots yet?" Jo asked. Jp sat in his seat confused on what he should say," Of course not. And according to Chefs law book, section 14, all house pets should be checked for diseases and given the proper…."

"This is ridicules," Jp stood up and was about to leave until Poppy blocked his way.

"Jp I know all you want is to help your friends. But Chef has rules that need to be followed. And if you want to help your friends the best way you can, then you have to follow the rule book. Jo and I spent all night looking for loopholes and searching for ways you to get what you want. But none of that can happen if you don't cooperate,"

Hearing her words, Jp looked down and shut his eyes to think.

"Let me get this straight, you want me to obligat with a little girl?" Jp said to which Poppy shrugged as an answer. Seeing no other way, Jp turned back around to face the little girl who was already drinking her milk," Ok…. So what do i have to do?"

"We have specific jobs picked out for all of you. We see that you work as a shoe maker. Biggie and Guy Diamond will make these shoes and when requested, Branch will deliver them to the castle. The records also state that Cooper has a family that works a private farm in the Evergreen Forest. Chef wants him and his family to deliver crops and goods to her castle at her request. And as for you, considering the shop is filed under your name, you will provide money to keep the shop farm running…."

"Provide how? My shoe shop is a mess after the pirates attack and it's not like I made any money even before that disaster," Jp argued.

"We figured that out too, which is why you'll be assigned a spot in the royal guards. Now, you'll be receiving a small percentage of the royal guard salary and the rest of the money will go to the queen to help pay off the crimes," The moment Jo revealed this Jp stood up and shook his head no.

"That ain't happening,"

"Jp?" Poppy was confused," A spot in the royal guards would be a dream job for anyone."

"Yea right, bullying poor people on the streets, pushing them around and be hated by the town," Jp said sarcastically, "Besides, I'm just a poor boy who runs a shop…. Or use to….. What purpose can I serve in the castle?"

"That's why we're offering you this job," Jo stood next to him," So you can finally be a free man."

Jp just rolled his eyes and was just about to leave.

( song, **bold for action** )

 _ **Jo**_

"Right here, right now,  
I put the offer out…"

 **Jo pushed him back into his seat.**

"I don't want to chase you down,  
I know you see it,"

 **Jo took a dart and threw it to stab the picture of the castle on the wall.**

"You run with me,  
And I can cut you free,  
Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in,"

 **She stomped her foot to signal Poppy for another drink. The older sister slid the glass of milk to her.**

"So trade that typical….

For something colorful  
And if it's crazy, live a little crazy,"

 **She signaled Poppy for another glass of milk.**

"You can play it sensible, a king of conventional  
Or you can risk it all and see…"

 **She effortlessly jumped onto the counter and spun him around in his seat while placing the glass in his hands.**

"Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play,"

 **Like a playful child, She took his hat and put it on.**

"'Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take the ride  
It'll take you to the other side,"

 **She hopped off and pulled Jp from his seat by his hands. She spun him around like she was playing ring around the rosy.**

"'Cause you can do like you do,  
Or you can do like me,  
Stay in the cage, or you'll finally take the key,  
Oh, dang! Suddenly you're free to fly,  
It'll take you to the other side!"

 **After spinning so much, she released him letting him spin and sit on a nearby chair.**

 _ **Jp**_

Okay, little girl, you want to cut me in,  
Well I hate to tell you, but it just won't happen,"

 **Jp reached out and grabbed his hat back.**

"So thanks, but no,  
I think I'm good to go,  
'Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in,"

 **He stood up and made his way to the door but Poppy spun him back around to his seat.**

"Now I admire you, and you know, sure you do,  
That I'm nothing, really I'm nothing,  
And you live above the swells, while I just pick up peanut shells,  
I'll just fail all of you,"

 **Seeing he was cornered by the girls, he hopped onto the counter and faced them.**

"Don't you know that I'm okay with this poor boy part I get to play,  
'Cause I got what I need and I know it's a wild ride,"

 **He slid across the counter with Poppy hurring to take everything off so he didn't shatter anything.**

"I don't need to see the other side,  
So go and do like you do,  
I'm good to do like me,  
Ain't in a cage, so I don't need to take the key,  
Oh, damn! Can't you see I'm doing fine,  
I don't need to see the other side,"

 **He hopped off at the end of the counter and was just about to open the exit door.**

 _ **Jo**_

"Now is this really how you like to spend your days?"

 **Out of nowhere, the little girl showed up from behind the girl. Jp looked behind him confused on how she moved so fast.**

"Starving and misery, and fighting to pay,"

 _ **Jp**_

"If I were mixed up with you,

I'd have pressure from the town,  
Pressure of failure, Risk looking like a clown,

 **Jp picked up the little girl and placed her on a seat. He spun around and began to leave.**

 _ **Jo**_

"But you would finally live a little,

Finally laugh a little,  
Just let us give you the freedom to dream,  
And it'll wake you up and cure your aching,"

 **Jp stopped in the middle of his tracks and listen to the little girl.**

"Take your walls and start 'em breaking,  
Now that's a deal that seems worth taking,  
But I guess I'll leave that up to you,"

 **For a short while, Jp stayed frozen. Thinking about what can become of him working for the queen in the castle. Can it be a nightmare, or a dream come true. Giving in, he spun around with a smile plastered on his face.**

"Well it's intriguing, but to join would cost me greatly,  
So what percentage of the salary would I be taking?"

 **The two princesses smiled at each other before Jo can come up with a percentage.**

 _ **Jo**_

"Fair enough, you'd want a piece of all the action,  
I'd give you seven,

We could shake and make it happen,"

 **Poppy began to write that down on the contract.**

 _ **Jp**_

"I wasn't born this morning,

eighteen would be just fine."

 **Scratching off what she wrote before, Poppy put on 18%. Jo shook her head no and laughed**

"Why not just go ahead and ask for nickels on the dime,"

 _ **Jp**_

"Fifteen,"

 **Jp began to walk towards her.**

 _ **Jo**_

"Contract says eight,"

 **Constintally, Poppy had to rewrite the percentage on the contract.**

 _ **Jp**_

"Twelve,"

 **Jo stood on a stool so she can be the same height as Jp.**

 _ **Jo**_

"Maybe nine,"

 _ **Jp**_

"Ten,"

( talk )

"Can we just come up with a salary already!" Poppy cried out, "I'm running out of ink!"

The young man looked up at the little girl who wore a smirk on her face.

"You'll be receiving 10 percent from your salary while the other 90 percentage goes to pay off for your crimes," Jo concluded.

"Making a deal with an eleven year old princess to set my friends free….. How did my life come to this?" Jp chuckled as he reached his hand out for a shake.

"I look forward to seeing you at work Mr Jp," Jo shook his hand to confirm the deal.

( sing )

 _ **Jp and Jo**_

"Don't you wanna get away to a whole new part you're gonna play,"

 **Poppy served them 2 more glasses of milk to which the two raised in the air and clicked together for a cheer.**

"'Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take the ride  
To the other side,"

 **The two chugged down the milk before leaving the room.**

 _ **Next day**_

 **Jp was in the training room getting his uniform fitted.**

"So if you do like I do  
So if you do like me  
Forget the cage, 'cause we know how to make the key  
Oh, dang! Suddenly we're free to fly,  
We're going to the other side,"

 **Once he was fit into his uniform, Jo wasted no time. She grabbed a sword and swung to him to which he quickly blocked with his own sword.**

 _ **Jp**_

"So if you do like I do."

 _ **Jo**_

"To the other side,"

 _ **Jp**_

"So if you do like me,"

 _ **Jo**_

"We're going to the other side,"

 _ **Both**_

"'Cause if we do we're going to the other side  
We're going to the other side,"

( end of song )

From that moment on, The boys lives were finally gonna change for the better. Serving the queen wouldn't be so bad as long as they did as they were told. Jp started his training and as promised, Cooper was released the same day. The boys did their part, Biggie and Guy Diamond kept the shop running, Cooper and his family grew crops and goods as the queen requested and Branch would get requests to deliver the shoes at the castle at least once a month. Yes life was going just fine for the boys, but unfortunately, they didn't know the full truth. The phrase _too good to be true_ has been tossed around and is well known. While the boys had a more comfortable life, it came at a cost for others.

"Get Jp a new set of armor, polish his weapons, make a map for Branch so he can deliver the shoes, fix the delivery wagon, unload and count the crops and fruits that will be brought in this afternoon by Cooper," Gallus threw the list of chores on the ground," These boys are causing more work for us!"

"Hey, no need to get all upset," Sander picked up the list and pinned it to the wall," these boys are just like us. Working to pay off their debts."

"Which equals more work for us!" Sam angrily threw the boys cloths into a tub of water. Ocellus was exhausted with all the extra work. She has fallen asleep on top of all the pillow cases on the the floor.

"Ocellus!" Sam shook her awake.

"Huh! I'm pillows!... I mean… I'm awake hehe," Ocellus pulled away from the pillows and went back to scrubbing the cloths," Sorry, It's just all this extra work combined with finding that secret door is killing me."

"What's worse is that those princesses almost discovered us," Sander added in.

"Anna don't get it, Why can't pretty princesses know about secret door?" Anna asked.

"Because King Peppy gave clear instructions. The girls have to wait until they're ready. Then we can lead them to the door….. That is if we find it," Gallus explained.

"When will we know they're ready?" Silver asked them. The 6 remained silent for a long while.

"We'll just know," Ocelus answered before getting back to work.

"Speaking of that secret door, have you been drawing out the maps yet?" Sander looked over Ocellus notebook to see all the drawings of the castle and x marks all over.

"Yes, but I can't seem to locate the door," Ocellus groaned as she folded the clothes and handing them to Gallus.  
"The sooner we find that door the better." Gallus mumbled to himself as he placed the cloths into the basket and went up the stairs with Silver," With the new recruits, we have a lot more work now."  
"Hey, it won't be so bad. New people, new friends, right!" Silver smiled at him. Gallus could only shrug. He never knew how to respond to the girls optimism.

"Chores, work, and this hunt for freedom….. I just wish there was some kind of map that can tell us how to handle all this," Gallus entered the girls room and laid the basket for them. Since they were gone for now, Gallus set the cloths on each girls bed with Silvers help.

( Song, **bold for action** )

 _ **Silver**_

"Can we try to have an optimistic outlook, huh?"

 **Silver Placed her fingers on her friends cheeks to make it look like he was smiling.**

"Can we buck up just enough to see the world won't fall apart?"

 **Gallus rolled his eyes and left the room with the happy girl behind him. Silver was way too happy for being the last survivor of her kingdom. She was either insane or she just wanted to look at the positive of everything. The only thing Silver wanted was to find a way to help her friends find joy in the smallest things.**

"Maybe this time we decide,  
We're not giving up before we've tried,  
This time we make a new start,"

 _ **Gallus talk**_

"Hey I know!  
You can go around today and ask anyone if they have the map to that door we're looking for…. Just to save us time."

 _ **Silver talk**_

"There's an actual map!"

 **The naive girl cheered, unaware of Gallus sarcastic tone.**

 _ **Gallus talk**_

"Oh brother,"

" **MAIDS!" They heard Chefs voice boom across the castle," I NEED MY BREAKFAST!"**

 **Gallus mumbled some unpleasant words under his breath. All he wanted in life was to leave this hell and find a way to happiness.**

"When will the torture end,"

( talk )

"Two eggs, sunny side up, strawberry milkshake topped with mangos, bacon well done, and a bowl of tofu soup…." Anna called out as she served everything up for their master," Did Anna forget anything nasty queen wants?"

"Yes, a knuckle sandwich with a side of despair!" Sam growled as she tried to unclog the sink. She grunted with each pull until the final pull caused her to fall back, "I hate my life."

"Tough girl needs Annas help?" Anna helped her up but Sam just moved away.

"No, but I do need to find a way out of this miserable life. As soon as we find that door, life for us will finally change,"

"MAIDS! MAIDS!" The queens voice boomed into their ears.

"Uge! Coming your majesty!" Sam tried to sound polite. She grabbed the breakfast and placed it on her head. She grabbed the platter with the milkshake on one hand and the platter with the soup in the other. She balanced the food as she went up the stairs.

( sing )

 _ **Sam**_

"Another _stellar_ conversation for the scrapbook,"

 **Sam sang in a sarcastic tone on stellar.**

"Another stumble as I'm pushing back the mean things to say,"

 **Sam had so much she wanted to say to Chef but being just a maid, she couldn't say anything. She was silent by her masters wrath. If only she can find a way to express herself without letting Chef know what she wants to say. She dropped off her queens breakfast and left back down the stairs.**

"My patients coming up empty,  
Can't find my way to express,"

 _ **At the garden**_

 **Ocellus was trying to water the plants while looking at her notebook. She had a drawing of the garden with tons of x marks as well.**

 _ **Ocellus**_

"Does anybody have a map?!  
"Anybody maybe happen to know how on earth to do this?!"

 **Ocellus tried to do her chores and find the door at the same time. She was considered the smartest in the group. She had a high IQ, read more books than they can count, and smarter than the queen herself. Yet, with so much knowledge, Ocellus felt pressured to have all the answers.**

"I don't know if you can tell,  
But this is me just pretending to know,  
So where's the map?  
I need a clue,"

 **The little girl was chewing off more than she can chew almost everyday. All she wants is to find a way to put her knowledge to use. Because all she can do now is grab a handful of information and hope to have all the answers.**

"'Cause the scary truth is,  
I'm flying blind,"

 **Out of nowhere, Sander ran by her with a basket full of fruit. Accidentally, he knocked the notebook out of her hands and landed on a mud puddle.**

"And I'm making this up as I go,"

( talk )

At the market, the six kids were scattering around looking for everything on Chefs list.

"I'll need this, this, and a little of this and maybe one of those," Ocellus packed up her basket.

"Geez, how much did Chef ask for?" Gallus looked at the list Silver was holding. The girl let the roll unfold completely revealing that the list was practically a mile long.

"We're gonna be here for a while," Sander comment.

"When will this nightmare end!" Sam cried out," I don't want to be serving this lady for the rest of my life! I just want to leave this place already!"

"Hey take it easy," Sander placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down," I highly doubt we'll be serving Chef for the rest of our lives. I mean how long can she keep us in that castle?"

( sing )

 _ **7 years later**_

 _ **Sander talk**_

"It's morning Gallus! You are not missing out on today's chores,"

 **A teenage Sander pulled the blanket away from his friends bed.**

 _ **Gallus talk**_

"I did this for over 7 years. I need to rest!"

 _ **Ocellus talk**_

"Where's the list of chores today!? Anna!"

 **Ocellus ran across the hall looking for the list. Silver looked into Anna's room and called out.**

 _ **Silver talk**_

"She's high on sugar again!"

 **Sander stopped pulling Gallus out of bed and ran to Anna's room.**

 _ **Sander talk**_

"I don't want you having a sugar crash Anna!"

 **The chubby girl hyperly jumped out of her room with the list.**

"Perfect, Cause Anna is strong enough for…"

 **Not even 5 feet away, Amma had a sugar crash in the spot**

" **ANNA!"**

 _ **Sander**_

"Another masterful attempt ends with disaster!"

 **Sander ran down the stairs ready to start the chores. Everyday was a busy day for them. Work work work. All he wants is to find a way to get all his friends and him to lay back and relax, at least for a day.**

 _ **Silver**_

"Pipes are clogged up again!"

 _ **Sander**_

"Pour another cup of coffee  
And watch it all crash and burn,"

 _ **Sam**_

"Anna finished the milk!"

 _ **Sander**_

"It's a puzzle, it's a maze,  
I tried to steer through it a million ways,  
But each day's another wrong turn,"

 _ **Gallus**_

"We better head out to the market,"

 _ **Silver**_

"Last one to the cart is a rotten berry!"

 **Outside, the six teens were rushing back and forth gathering what they needed for today's chores.**

 _ **Sander**_

"Does anybody have a map?"

 _ **Anna**_

"Anybody have a map"

 _ **Gallus and Silver**_

"Happen to know how on earth to do this?"

 _ **Sam and Ocellus**_

"I don't know if you can tell But this is _we_ just pretending to know!"

 **One by one, the six of them ran onto an old trolly. There only transportation. Gallus and Silver were the first on as its started to leave.**

 _ **Gallus, Silver and Sander**_

"So where's the map?"

 **Silver and Gallus pulled Sander into the trolly as they past by.**

 _ **Anna, Sam, and Ocellus**_

"I need a clue,"

 **Gallus and Sander pulled Ocellus onto the trolly while Sam had to run after it dragging Anna behind her.**

 _ **All six.**_

"'Cause the scary truth is…."

 _ **Sander and Anna**_

"We're flying blind,"

 **Sam grabbed onto the railing and pulled herself up. Everyone reached out their hands for Anna to grab on.**

 _ **Gallus and Silver**_

We're flying blind

 _ **Sam and Ocellus**_

We're flying blind

 _ **All six**_

"We're flying blind!"

 **Finally Anna collided her hand with her friends who pulled her up with some trouble.**

"And we're making this up as we go  
As we go!"

( end )

 **Well there we have it. I'm pretty sure you all know what that secret door is. If your too lazy to do math here are the ages now from all the characters we met so far.**

 **Poppy - was 18, now 25**

 **Bridget - 17 to 24**

 **Suki - 16 to 23**

 **Satin and Chenille - 15 to 22**

 **Smidge - 14 to 21**

 **Karma - 13 to 20**

 **Maddy - 12 to 19**

 **Wisp - 11 to 18**

 **Jo - 11 to 18**

 **Rebey - 8 to 15**

 **Harper - 4 to 11**

 **Branch - 20 to 27**

 **Cooper and Biggie - 17 to 24**

 **Guy Diamond - 16 to 23**

 **Jp - 19 to 26**

 **Ocellus - 8 to 15**

 **Silver and Anna - 9 to 16**

 **Sam and Sander - 10 to 17**

 **Gallus- 11 to 18**

… **.Yea be prepared for more characters. The reason for so many is because each charter will influence a certain princess. One obvious example is Branch is gonna be Poppys influence and Poppy will be his influence. And having 12 princesses, be ready for new characters. Hope you don't mind long stories cause this is definitely gonna be a long one.**

 **Songs are a parody of "Other Side" from the Greatest Showman, and " Anybody have a Map?" From Dear Evan Hansen. Both songs written by Justin Paul / Benj Pasek.**

 **Ps. Yes when I was 11 I did a lot of deals with other students. If a student borrowed money from me, I give them a date to repay and if they didn't pay on time the interest rate would go up. If they still didn't pay then I would take something of there's that can pay it off….. A 5th grader has to do what a 5th grader has to do right?**


	5. The Door

**I know, I'm focusing on this story a lot but I can't help it. Every song I hear, every film show or short film I watch gives me new ideas to add on. You have no idea how big this story is! Not to mention each girl is different. One reason I made them human was to make them different. Adoption, midgets, disabled, religion, overweight, race, fate, poor, rich, age, what makes a leader a leader? and soooooo much more! I'm extremely determined to make this story the** _ **BEST**_ **out of all my ideas!**

 **Jp - If you say so. I knew you liked Zac Effron so it only made scenes to give you a song from him.**

 **T.G - Well I'm glad you think so because Anna is actually based on my little sister.**

 **Rebey - well when this was made for mlp, the two characters Jp and I play were suppose to be love interest. So you may get a bit of a romance feel but keep in mind, I was 11 and Jp was 19 during that chapter… he's a bit over my age don't you think.**

 **Just Kathy - I'm glad you love the story so far and thanks for mentioning the mistake. I'll see what I can do to fix it. And yes Jp is the leader because he owns the sho shop.**

 **mlpfanceline1 - I was actually watching mlp while writing the chapter so I had to get that reference in there. Instead of pancakes I used pillows because…. Well…. You are correct about the young six, In episode 1 of season 8 Ocellus seems to like pillows. The reason it represents them is because when this was for mlp, I gave the young six a role in the story but when I changed it to Trolls, I couldn't let go of their roles. I loved their roles so much that I had to make up new names to keep their roles….. Oh!**

 **And I will be uploading a mlp version of this story. It won't take long. Like 1 hour really. I just need to edit it. So if your fan of mlp then keep an eye out for the mlp version. You'll see a lot of similarities but differences as well.**

 **In the castle**

An elder looking lady with an elegant black and white dress slammed opened the giant doors. Inside it revealed a series of beds, each holding a sleeping princess.

"Awe, don't they just look peaceful," The lady cooed from the sight.

"Oh yes your highness, very peaceful," a T.G ran to her side. He held a clipboard and a feathered pen. He was known as the queens right hand man now. He did everything she wanted him to do. Even if it meant he had to step out of his comfort zone.

"I hate it!" The queen pushed her right hand man into the room," Tall prancing llama take care of them will you?"

"Actually, my name is Tapdancing Giraf," the man corrected her. The queen couldn't care less. She shoved a gong into his arms and pushed him away.

"Your parents were idiots for naming you that," She spat out before clapping her hands as loud as she can," Wake up my little princesses!"

All the girls started moaning from exhaustion.

"5 more minutes," a girl with light brown hair pleaded before throwing the covers over her.

"Sorry Princess Poppy, but Queen Chef wants you up and addams," Tapdancing Giraf slowly pulled the covers off her, careful not to startle the girl.

"Oooh, but I was dreaming about a boy," a blond hair girl mumbled with a smile.

"Maddy!" Queen Chef pulled the pillow from beneath her head and threw it over her head," How dare you dream such things!"

"What?" Mandy complaint as she slowly got up.

"Why are we up? It's still dark out," A girl with straight, raven black hair got up and tried to look around. On the bed next to her, her twin sister couldn't help giggle when she saw her sister still had her sleeping mask on.

"Here you go princess Chenille," Tapdancing Giraf politely removed her sleeping mask off revealing her violet eyes.

"Oh, thank you Tap," Chenille smiled. She then heard her sister laughing into her pillow," shut it Satin."

Chenille playfully threw her pillow over her sisters head.

"Hey," Satin grabbed the pillow and tried to throw it back at her only for Chenille to duck down. The pillow flew onto the head of another sleeping princess.

"I'm up! I'm up! I'm…." A redhead girl suddenly sat up. Her wild curly hair was all over the place and nearly covered her purple eyes. Just like all her sisters, her skin was as white as snow. Only she had light freckles sprinkled acrossed her cheeks. She looked over at Satin who pointed at the girl across from her. Wanting some revenge, the red headed girl hopped out of bed and smacked the pillow on her sister.

"HEY!" This girl had a very shockingly deep and raspy voice. If that wasn't enough, her unusually small size was quite a shock as well. She swiped her blond hair from her face and glared at her sister"Suki!"

The princess threw the pillow at her as well. Suki douged the pillow letting it hit another princess in bed

"What the…" The princess popped out of her bed," Who was that?!"

"It was her Rebey!" Smidge pointed at Suki.

The 15 year old girl glared at her before flinging her pillow at her. One by one, all the girls have woken up. Each one throwing pillows and stuffed animals at each other.

"Please! Can we have some decency!?" Chef cried out. Her only answer being a smack in the head by a pillow thrown by Rebey.

"Haha! Bullseye!" Rebey cheered.

"Heads up!" Jo cried out and threw her stuffed owl. Only her aim was way off. It missed Rebey by at least 6 feet and hit T.G who was joining in the fun. Laughing, T.G grabbed the owl and threw it back at Jo.

"I got it!" The 18 year old girl laughed and jumped up to catch her stuffed animal. The owl landed on her bed that was right next to her. But even when it was right next to her, the brown haired girl looked above her as if searching for it,"Um…. Where did it go?"

Walking through all the hits every girl was throwing, T.G made his way to her and handed her the white owl.

"It landed right next to you. Didn't you see it?" Jo took the owl and squinted her eyes to look at who was talking to her.

"Uh…. Yea. Yea I saw….. A blur zoom pass by me," Jo nervously laughed. She moved her face closer to his and tried to study his features," Umm… Bridget?"

"Nooo…. T.G," The man slowly said uncomfortably.

"Oh, right, sorry," Jo apologized.

"Every girl! Line up!" Chef ordered and blew her whistle. All the girls stopped their fun and formed a line," Roll call!"

"Harper!" the 11 year old called out.

"Rebey!" The 15 year old said.

"Jocabed!" Jo said her full name.

"Wisp!" The 18 year old said in her usual soft voice.

"Maddy!" The 19 year old called out.

"Karma!" The girl said.

"Smidge!" The small princess announced her presents.

"Satin!"

"Chenille!" The twins said in unison.

"Suki," The red haired girl yawned out. She was never a morning person and especially never liked roll call.

"Bridget!" The chubby girl was bright and addams. She was a very active girl who liked getting things done early.

"Poppy," the eldest said her name.

"Good, all 12 are here. Now, you girls know what to do. Clean your rooms, eat breakfast and start your lessons, oh, and I have a surprise for you all at breakfast," Chef commanded.

"Yes my queen," The 12 girls bowed.

"Good! Breakfast is in 1 hour, be ready and proper," Chef ordered and left the room.

"Have a wonderful morning your majesties," T.G bowed before running back to Chef.

The girls all started to clean up and get themselves ready.

"Another day, another migraine," Smidge mumbled as she tied her blond hair into a bun. She glanced over at some light blue paint for her hair. She hasn't used that in years. In fact the next morning after the pirate attack, Chef band colored hair. Saying it wasn't princess like. She tied her big pink bow and got ready to clean.

"Just another normal day," Poppy sighed. She looked out the balcony window to see Jo walking out to the balcony. She closed the glass doors and kneeled down to a prayer," Jo prays, Smidge complains, Maddy hogs the mirror….."

"I do not!" Maddy claimed as she pushed Satin aside to look at her hair in the mirror.

"Excuse me, you have your own mirror," Satin pushed Maddy off her seat and sat back down. Poppy gave a small giggle at this. She loved seeing her sisters have some kind of emotion instead of boredom.

"Where's my brush!?" Chenille looked through her drawers," Maddy!?"

"What? It's not like I take all the brushes," Maddy sat in her own chair and open her drawer to reveal 12 brushes.

"Hey! That's mine," Satin took her brush away only for Chenille to swipe it.

"No, it's mine,"

"No way, it has my initials on it," Satin showed the letters on the brush," See? S.K Satin Kendrick!"

"Actually it belongs to neither of you two. I used that brush when I released my braids to keep my hair thick and curly for the day," Maddy told her.

"So?" The twins asked.

"So, who here has naturally thick curly hair?" Maddy asked. The twins looked at one other then at the brush. The twins glanced over at Suki's bed who was back asleep with her head against the wall and her hair practicality covering her face.

"Your not the only one with a name that starts with S Satin," Smidge showed her mirror that also has an S.K on it.

"Well now I feel like an idiot," Satin tossed the brush towards Suki's bed. The brush smacked Suki back awake.

"Huh? Wha… I'm here! I'm here! Did I miss breakfast!?" Suki wiped the drool from her cheek and nearly ran out the door if it wasn't for Bridget.

"Not yet," Bridget pulled Suki into her seat and brushed out her tangled hair.

"Were you at the garden again collecting bugs?" Jo came back in.

"Yea….." Suki yawned out,"... Wisp also told me to feed the bats while I was at it."

"Suki you know you can't keep jumping the balcony every night," Poppy tried to tell her," What if Chef sees you sneaking around the garden?"

"Ah we've been here for 7 years. She never caught me," Once Bridget tied Suki's curly hair into a tri ponytail, the princess stood up, put on some silk pants and a top, " Besides, what's the worst she can do to me? Ground me? We already get locked up every night."

"True but still," Poppy prepared herself like her sisters. She couldn't help but ponder on what this new surprise their aunt had for them. She never had surprises for them. Of course not pleasant surprises.

With 30 minutes left until breakfast, the girls were cleaning their rooms by brooming and dusting.  
"Ladies?" Tapdancing Giraf ( T.G for short because you have a very long name) called out. All the girls stopped their cleaning and looked over at him," The cobbler has come to deliver the shoes."

A loud gasp by the girls filled the room. They all dropped their supplies and trampled the poor man down.

"Sheesh, girls, they're just shoes," T.G struggled to get up. Near the exist, the twins stopped to look behind them.

"Just shoes?" They laughed in unison before running out with their sisters.

"Aren't they?" T.G didn't understand these girls one bit.

"Their dancing shoes," Rebey helped him up on his feet before running out after everyone.

Down the steps, Branch was making sure he had all the shoes for the girls.

"Branch! Branch!" All 12 princesses screamed in delight as they ran down the stairs. Harper was the first to reach him.

"Did you get our shoes? Did you? Did you?" The little 11 year old couldn't stop jumping up and down.

"Shoes? Was I supposed to bring shoes?" Branch playfully asked.

"Yes!" Harper laughed. Branch couldn't help but smile at the girls enthusiasm. He grabbed a chest and pulled it out. He opened it up to reveal 12 beautiful dancing shoes," Oooh, pretty."

"These are yours," Branch handed Harper a pair of silky blue ballerina shoes. Branch could see the little girl's eyes light up with joy when she received them," You like them?"

"Yes," Harper squealed. She ran off with the shoes tightly held against her chest. One by one, all the princesses received their shoes.

"Beautiful shoes Branch, as always," Poppy commented him as she admired her pink shoes inside the chest.

"Thank you your highness. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results," Branch politely smiled as he handed them to her.

"You know, seeing you every month is the one day the girls and I feel actual joy," Poppy returned the smile.

"Because I bring you girls your shoes," Branch assumed. He shut the chest and threw it back into the cart.

"No… or well, yes…. In fact aunt Chef would _kill_ us if she found out we ordered dancing shoes. No dancing allowed she says…. but… there's just something about you that really brings a smile to our faces," as Poppy said this she can feel a faint blush form against her cheeks. Branch shyly looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his neck.

"That's very kind of you to say your highness,"

"You know you don't have to keep calling me that. Just call me Poppy," The princess insisted.

"Yes but I thought since the proposal this morning I might as well," Branch answered.

"Proposal?" Poppy tilted her head in confusion," What proposal?"

Branches eyes widen from fear and shock.

"You haven't heard?" Branch asked only confusing the girl more," I….. I gotta go."

"Branch?!" Poppy tried to understand was going on but the raven haired boy packed up his things as fast as possible," What's going on?"

"Y….. You'll see sooner or later," with that Branch hopped onto his cart and commanded the horses to pull it away.

"Branch wait!" Poppy called out to him one more time but he was gone faster than she can blink," What does he mean I'll see sooner or later?"

 _ **Breakfast time**_

"A BALL!?" All the princesses gasped in delight.

"Yes, a ball," Chef nodded her head. All the princesses were indeed surprised in a good way.

"A ball! Oh how magnificent!" Satin clapped her hands in joy.

"Dancing? Singing? Music!? Oh aunt Chef! I thought…."

"Music is indeed banned but for a special accusation such as this, I thought I let you girls have some fun," Chef interrupted Chenille. She then glanced to Poppy who was also jumping at the edge of her seat," which is why I let you girls order those dancing shoes you wanted."

"You knew?" Harper gasped.

"I am the queen. I know everything that goes on around here," Chef answered. She then went back to eating before making another comment," Also Harper has yet to take hers off."

The 12 girls looked under the table to see it was true. The little girl still wore her dark blue slippers with a little paint brush charm on them.

"Opps," Harper blushed in embarrassment.

"I guess we can't get anything past you," Poppy sighed at the fact that they weren't so secretive after all.

"What is this _special occasion_ anyway?" Suki asked suspiciously. Their aunt was a clever queen meaning she never gave anything without a cost.

"Yes, about that. I just send out a notice to the kingdom this morning before I released you from your room," Chef started to explain. All the girls mumbled to each other trying to figure out what this meant," The notice is nothing to worry about girls. Just an announcement to all the suitors out their who are interested in marriage."

"WHAT!?" All 12 girls screamed out. Smidge swallowed her slice of apple whole causing her to choke while Rebey did a spit take with her water.

"Marriage?! But….. What?!" Rebey voice cracked between her coughs.

"Not for you you Rebecca, or even for Harper. You two are still under age. But as for you ladies, you are now young adults."

"Excuse me, aunt Chef," Jo started politely," But I'm only 18 and a half. And besides, a girl isn't an official adult until she reaches the age 21."

"True yes but you should also know that with her guardian's _permission_ , a girl can marry at any age. Rebey and Harper should be thankful that I'm not marrying them away at such a young age," Chef replied.

"I… I always thought that we would have the choice to marry or not and to who ever," Poppy told her nervously.

"Whomever," Jo corrected.

"That is only for the common blood. You ladies are of royal blood. Meaning you must marry of noble birth," Chef explained.

"That's not fair!" Smidge slammed the table with her fists causing the food to jump up and spill.

"I beg the differ," Chef snapped her fingers calling to the servants. Ocellus came running out and started cleaning up right away.

"Excuse me," Ocellus took all the spilled cups and ran back to the sink before returning to mop the spills.

"These marriages are like contracts," This caught the ears of Ocellus who was under the table cleaning with a towel. With coriuse eyes, the young girl looked at Chefs way and listened closely," If I marry you young ladies to noble birth it will strengthen my kingdom. Believe it or not my kingdom is considered very rich. Making it a target for pirates and thieves all around. With more kingdoms on my side I can worry less about them."

"I guess that makes sense," Poppy questioned herself on this. Were they doing something good if they married of noble birth?

Even after the explanation, Smidge angrily stood up and marched out of the room. Chenille was practicality in tears and followed her sister.

"I'll…. Check on them," Suki followed the two out.

"Tell your sisters that we will also be forming competitions to see who will win one of your girls hand in marriage," Chef called out to Suki before she left.

After cleaning, Ocellus ran back to the kitchen as fast as she could without drawing attention.

"We have a problem," She squeaked.

"Problem?" Sander repeated.

"Chef is marrying the girls away,"

"Marrying them away?!" Silver gasped.

"That means they'll be apart!" Ocellus added in.

"Apart?!" Anna nearly yelled.

"Yes and the ball is tomorrow night!"

"Tomorrow night!?" Sam repeated in shock.

"Sheesh, are we playing echo or something?" Gallus came in with some dishes to wash.

"Chef is gonna form competitions before the ball to see who will win a princess hand in marriage," Ocellus told them everything.

"This aint good you guys," Sander told them," If their apart Peppys plans falls apart."

"Well we're doomed," Sam threw the dishes into the sink," We'll never find that door before tomorrow night."

"There's still hope. We have at least 24 hours right?" Silver tried to keep her smile on.

"Yea but we already searched the entire castle. There is no sign of that door anywhere," Sam mumbbled.

"So that's it then," Gallus pressed his back against the wall and slid down hopelessly," We just give up?"

All six looked down in shame. They had hoped to find what they were looking for but it felt too late now. The princesses were beauties and any prince would be lucky enough to have one of them. So no doubt the there will be many men coming tomorrow.

 _ **After Breakfast**_

"Arranged marriage?! Why would Chef do this." Satin walked across the halls with her sisters.

"She already said it was to strengthen the kingdom," Poppy tried to think logically about this.

"Yeah right! She wants to get rid of all the heirs to the throne!" Rebey shouted," with all of us gone she gets full access to the throne!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here Rebey," Bridget tried to calm her down.

"How do you think Suki, Smidge and Chenille are doing? Those three left the throne room the moment Chef announced the marriage announcement," Jo asked.

"They actually took it better than I thought they would," Poppy thought back at the scene," Out of all of us I expected them to be…. Angry at Chef."

"Well it's nice to see they took it better than all of us," Satin added in before opening the door to their room.

"I HATE MY LIIIIFE!" Suki screamed out at the top of her lungs. She was on her bed smaking the wooden area with her sword. The cuts were so deep the girls thought for sure Suki was gonna destroy her bed. In fact, She was throwing her pillows up into the air to only slice them in half.

"Stupid Chef. How DARE SHE TAKE CONTROL OF MY LIFE!" Chenille was practising her karate moves on the dummy she had. With one last scream, Chenille gave the dummy a hard punch snapping the neck and making the head come right off.

Smidge on the other hand was lifting so many weights that it was a miracle her little spine wasn't breaking in half.

"I….. Will…. NOT…. be a… prize!" Smidge screamed as she threw her weights across the room. Her sisters gasped in horror and shut the door to avoid the weights. Just in time too. A couple of Smidges weights broke down the door completely destroying it.

"Wow, they really are taking it better than I thought," Poppy comment.

"I need to go calm down," Suki stormed her way out the room. She stomped all the way down the stairs just fuming to the thought of being married away to a stranger.

"A princess must be this! A princess must say this! Oh no dear Suki a princess can't collect bugs that's disgusting!" Suki mocked her aunt.

"You collect bugs?" Ocellus was just passing by with the others.

"Yea but I only study them for awhile then I release them. I usually do it so I can hear the sounds they make. It's like music really, it makes me happy to hear them," Suki's smile was only short lived," But aunt Chef says we have to marry now."

"We heard," Sander replied," But at least you'll be married to a noble. You'll be well provided."

"Perhaps, but I don't see the point of marriage if I can't at least be _happy._ Believe me, Mother use to have a lot of suitors come into the castle asking for my hand in marriage. Thankfully my mother had a brain and saw all the suitors wanted was my fame and fortune."

The servant notice the princess was walking towards the garden.

"Where is pretty princess going!?" Anna blocked her way.

"I don't know, somewhere where I can be happy," Suki tried to walk around her but Sam grabbed her hand.

"Whoa there princess. Think this through,"

"I am and I'm tired of Chef locking me up every night. Telling me what a princess does and doesn't do," Suki pulled her arm away from her," You should hear her. A princess must say this, princess must marry a total stranger, _it's absurd_!"

Sing bold for actions

 _ **Suki**_

"Suitors talk of love but it's an act,  
Merely meant to throw me,"

 **Suki walked around the servants but they kept blocking her way.**

"How could someone love me when in fact  
They don't know me!"

 **Suki walked the other way and the servants followed her.**

"They want my royal treasure,  
When all is said and done,  
It's time for a desperate measure  
So I wonder…"

 **She pulled open the curtains to the giant window to see nothing but a big solid castle wall.**

"Why shouldn't I fly so far from here?  
I know the girl I might become here,  
Sad and confined and always locked behind these castle walls,"

 **The young six servants gathered into a group conversation**

( talk )

"We can't let her….." Anna argued.

"We must…." Ocellus told her," We only have 24 hours and who says we will find that door. The best choice here is to let her leave to buy us more time."

"You sure?" Sander asked.

"Positive," Ocellus said. They all turned to the sad redhead and started a conversation.

"I don't know princess, for someone like you the outside world might be kind of overwhelming….." Sam tried to tell her.

"Is that a promise?" Suki voice was full of hope.

"I think it would do her some good," Silver said.

"You do?," Suki asked.

"Honey I've never seen someone who needed to get out more!" Silver exclaimed. Sam and Ocellus ran into the laundry room.

 _ **Sing**_

 _ **Silver**_

"Told to show devotion everyday,"

 _ **Anna**_

"And not second guess it,"

 _ **Suki**_

"If a new emotion comes my way."

 **The Sam and Ocellus came out with a brown cloak for her.**

 _ **Sam, Silver, Anna, and Ocellus**_

"You suppress it,"

 _ **Suki**_

"What would be your suggestion?"

 **The servants threw the cloak over her. Gallus and Sander wrapped her with a light brown scarf and tucked in her curly hair.**

 _ **Gallus**_

"Stand on your own two feet,"

 _ **Sander and Gallus**_

"And ask why a certain question keeps repeating….."

 _ **Suki**_

"Why shouldn't I fly so far from here?"

 **The group pulled her towards the backyard garden and pulled her scarf over her head to hide her face.**

"I know the girl I might become here,  
Follow your heart or you might end up cold and callous,"

 _ **Young six**_

"Love comes to those who go and find it,"

 **The group guided her across the garden to the very back where a tree was hanging over the wall.**

"If you've a dream then stand behind it,"

 _ **Suki**_

"Maybe there's more beyond these castle walls,"

 **The servants then stood there in front of the tree waiting to help her climb the wall.**

"What if I dared…."

 **Suki pressed her foot against Sanders and Gallus hands who pushed her up the tree.**

"What if I tried?"

 **She sat on a branch and looked towards the castle.**

"Am I prepared for what's outside,"

 **She couldn't turn back now. She continued to climb until she was at the top.**

"Why shouldn't I fly so far from here?  
Something awaits beyond these castle walls!"

 **She hopped onto the very top of the wall and stood on it.**

 _ **Everyone**_

"Something waits beyond these castle walls!"

( end )

Without a second thought, Suki hopped onto another dry tree on the other side and made her way down.

"You think we should've given her money first?" Gallus thought about this plot hole.

 _ **Night time**_

Ocellus was just finishing up her chores in the laundry room. She couldn't help but feel sad for the princesses. Being forced to marry. If a prince answers the call them they'll have to spend a day with him.

"Something on your mind?" Sander asked the girl.

"Hmm? Yea. After helping Suki I couldn't stop thinking about the poor girls. Being forced into marriage? It isn't fair," Ocellus told him.

"Yea well lucky us, Once they leave the castle with their new husbands we'll have fewer work," Sam complained," I only helped that princess escape because that means one less princess to take care of."

"I guess….. But don't we need them all?" Silver asked.

"Yea, they are the key to saving all the kingdoms," Ocellus reminded them.

"Key or not! It's been over 7 years!" Sam angrily folded the dresses and stuffed them into the basket," Face it! We have to give up hope! We have no creativity! No freedom! Zero kindness! Everything in life is ugly!"

"There are a lot of fights in the kingdom, and lack of peace," Ocellus thought out loud.

"Exactly! We are weak little servants against a mean queen!" Sam claimed.

"As long as we have each other. And that's all that should matter right? Cooperation?" Silver tried to lighten up the mood.

"Silver, I know your a happy girl and all but face it. We live in a kingdom of despair, no happiness in any way. Not to mention we have the worst leader in history."

"Hey, we shouldn't give up hope. We need to hold onto our faith and pray that that our problems will come to a solution," Sander tried to explain.

"Faith? Hope? Please, I lost that a long time ago," Sam scoffed it off. She picked up the basket of clothing and made her way up that stairs," If hope and faith really exists, let it smite me in the face to prove it."

"ANNA FOUND SOME MORE CLOTHS!" Anna excitedly slammed open the door slamming Sam in the face and knocking her down. The girl tumbled down the stairs throwing the basket in the air. Remarkably, Sam ended at the end of the stairs with no broken bones but the basket did just land behind the short shelves that held the supplies," Opps, Anna sorry for making friend down."

Anna helped Sam back up who was in a daze.

"W…. What happened?" Sam shook her head to regain her focus.

"Great, we're gonna have to clean these again," Gallus said annoyingly at the thought of washing the dresses again.

"Where's the basket?" Ocellus asked as she placed the clothes back into the tub of water.

"Back here. Gallus help me move this?" Sander asked as he pulled onto the short shelf. It reached his chest but was still a hassle to move. In a minute the two boys moved the shelf and picked up the basket. Gallus tossed it back to Silver and went back to work. On the other hand, before Sander can push the shelf back, his blue eyes caught sight of an interesting design on the wall. It was a carved drawing small enough to hide behind the shelf.

"Sander? You helping or what?!" Gallus asked him.

"Y.. Yea but look at this!" Sander signalled for his friends to come over. Everyone gathered around and looked. It was a carved drawing but they didn't know how to identify it. There was like a shield with 12 gems on it.

"What is it?'' Sam placed a finger on a drawing of a gem on for it to move back. The kids gasped at this. It was like a button. Glancing at one another for approval, the 6 each pushed a gem like a button. In no time, the wall cracked open like a stoned door. They all took a small peek inside to see a small glowing of white.

"Um… I've worked here since I was a kid and I'm pretty sure this isn't supposed to be here," Silver gulped down some fear. Sam dug her head deeper into the mysterious room before stepping in.

"What are you doing?" Ocellus stopped her before she can go any further.

"Strange glowing cave, what do you think I'm doing," Sam asked sarcastically before walking in deeper. Everyone shrugged at one another not sure what to do. Silver happily hopped in followed by Anna then Ocellus. Sander let Gallus in first before closing the door himself.

The cave was glowing white and blue thanks to the gems that sprouted from the caves walls. The teens looked around in wonder, admiring the sight of such beauty.

"Wow," Sander gasped in amazement.

"Yea, wow. Do you think Chef knows about this place?" Gallus asked.

"Probably. She is in charge of every THING!" before Ocellus can say any more she fell into what appeared like a dark hole. Everyone looked down to see a flight of gem stairs leading down. They all ran down finding Ocellus at the bottom moaning in pain.

"Ocellus?! You alright?" Sander helped her up.

"Yea I … look!" She gasped at the sight before them. There were so many sets of staircases it would take all day to count them. Glowing bright was a floor pattern. It had a swirl design to it with 12 circles. Each circle holding a picture. Ocellus eye landed on a circle with the picture of a snow owl.

"A snow owl? Like the one Jo has," She thought out loud.

"Look, a treble note like Suki's," Silver pointed out.

"An arrow like Rebeys, a flower like Karmas!" Sander pointed out.

"A heart like Poppys," Gallus noticed hers almost right away.

"Circles each holding a picture of the girls necklace?... You guys! I think this is the door Peppy told us to find!" Silver squealed.

"If that is so then that means that our suffering is almost over. We just need to get the princesses here! But how?" Sander thought out loud. It wasn't like they had much time. They all heard footsteps coming from one of the set of stairs.

"Chef! Everyone out hurry!" Gallus rushed everyone to the first set of stairs they could find. They all ran up the stairs as fast and quietly as they can. Gallus stayed at the bottom of the stairs so he can see what Chef was doing. The queen made it down the stairs and looked around.

"Hmmm…. Could've sworn I heard voices here," Chef mumbled to herself. She walked around for a while looking at every set of stairs to make sure they were empty.

Seeing he had little time, Gallus hurried his way up the stairs. Just a couple steps up and he already tripped causing a loud thump. Chef immediately heard this and spun around to where she heard it. She glared at the set of stairs while Gallus pressed his back against the wall to keep out of her sight. Knowing someone was here, Chef made her way to where Gallus was. The boy slowly tried to make his way up but either way Chef would find him. He felt his heart start to pound against his chest and thought about all the punishments he was gonna go through. He swore he could hear his heart pound on his chest so hard that it was practically gonna burst out. With just a couple feet away, Chefs ears perked up at the sound of the clock ringing. She changed her attention to the clock that just struck midnight. Like magic, the circles in the ground began to glow. In a second, Chef walked away from Gallus and to the circles, releasing a great amount of relief from Gallus.

"This thing is gonna drive me crazy," Chef mumbled," What's the key? The secret to open this stupid door! I can't let anyone or anything out of this thing!"

"Anyone?" Galus thought to himself.

"Gallus," he heard Silvers voice whisper over to him. He looked up to see her signaling him over to hurry up. He wasted no time. He rushed over to her and caught up with the others. At the top Sander pushed open a door to a dark room that had the lights out. Once everyone was out, he shut the door closed.

"We…. We found…." Ocellus was out of breath from running up the stairs. But she didn't need to finish her sentence to feel and see the happiness in everyone's faces. They all looked at each other to see the same smile. Each one growing even wider as moments past.

"We found it!" Anna cheered. Instead of shushing her all her friends followed her lead and cheered.

"We did it! We did it!" Silver screamed in happiness.

"Haha! 7 years but we did it!" Sam cheered. She was then pulled into a hug by Anna which eventually turned into a group hug of 6. They all screamed in joy and jumped up and down. The celebration was cut short when Sam suddenly gasped.

"We found the door, but not all 12 princesses are here!" Sam silently panicked. This caused all the happy smiles to fall into a frown.

"Suki!" The entire group screamed. Out of nowhere, the lights came on. Everyone gasped and turned around to see T.G in bed. He switched on his lamp and had a expression of pure confusion.

"What are you all doing in my room?"

 **Guess what?! I spend so much time studying that collage finally ruined my eyes! Yes that is right! I spent hours doing computer homework and so so so so much reading online and in books that I see blurry everywhere. Welp! Could've been worse. Song is "Palace Walls" from the Aladdin Broadway.**


	6. Race

**I'm sorry I was gone for so long. There was a little bug in my house. First my 10-year-old sister gets sick for a month, then I got sick for the month, then my 4-year-old sister gets sick (although I feel bad for laughing because her coughing sounded like a duck quacking) and now my smallest sister Emily is sick. And to top it all off, my mom seems to be getting sick. All that's left is for my dad to get sick. Sheesh! As a sorry for being sick, I'll mash 2 chapters in one. Hope you like it.**

 **Reby Montana- well at least your happy your not getting married.**

 **T.G- I actually was thinking about it. And I just might. If not then it'll most likely happen during a one shot after this story.**

 **J.p - true those are what the fairy tales say but…. I like to put a twist to things… and yea I feel awkward too.**

 **Let's go!**

"Out of all the times we could've done this, why are we doing this so late at night?" Gallus mumbled under his breath. If he even had any breath left in him. All 5 of his friends were now on his shoulders trying to get over the wall in the garden.

"We helped Suki escape so it makes scenes that we get her back," Ocellus was at the very top. She hopped onto the top of the wall and helped Silver up.

"Oh, this is going to be so exciting!" Silver cheered only to earn herself a harsh hush from everyone.

"You'll get us caught," Sam hopped onto the top of the wall. The three girls kneeled down and onto Anna. Being the heaviest of them all, the three girls struggled to get her on the wall.

"Anna still not sure if we should be doing this," Anna pushed herself up until he made it on top of the wall," What if nasty queen finds out we left? Anna don't want extra chores."

"Don't worry," Sander raised up his hands as a signal he needed help getting up," T.G will cover for us."

"I will?!" T.G shrieked in surprise. He was keeping watch, making sure the teens left without anyone noticing.

"Yea, your going to cover our chores for us so Chef doesn't get suspicious. You know how feisty she gets with the smallest details," Sander pulled himself up with the help of the girls.

"I'm still convinced this is a bad idea," Gallus didn't even bother asking for help to get on the wall. He grabbed onto the vines on the wall and used them to climb up the wall," Suki is probably miles away by now. We'll never catch up to her."

"Oh don't be such a downer Gallus," Silver playfully said in her usual cheery tune," We can just ask people in town if we ever need help finding her."

"I don't do help," Gallus mumbled under his breath. He placed one arm onto the top of the wall but before he can lift himself up, the vine that was supporting his leg snapped under his weight. The sudden change suddenly made him slipped off the wall but instead of falling, he felt a pair of hands grab onto his arm.

"Everyone needs at least a little help," Silver comment as she held onto him. Gallus just rolled his eyes and made his way to the top with her help.

"Why couldn't we escape the same way as Suki?" Gallus tried to get to another topic.

"Chef has Jp guarding that area," Ocellus answered," She's going to double the guard's tomorrow morning for the ball. Not to mention she wants the competition preparations done before morning. So that's why we need to escape now. To give us more time to find Suki and when we come back, it'll only look like we came back from shopping for Chef."

Ocellus looked down to see how they were going to reach the ground without getting hurt. Her worried look didn't go unnoticed.

"I got you," Sam jumped down and stuck the landing like nothing. She reached her arms up signaling the small girl to jump.

"Oh boy," Ocellus jumped down letting Sam catch her with no problem.

"Wow, impressive strength," Sander smiled.

"Nice that someone notices," Sam smirked. She reached her arms out again signaling for Sander to jump," If only Chef did. If it wasn't for that stupid law of hers I would've been training to be a knight by now instead of a maid."

"You mean that law that says girls can't join the royal guards?" Sander asked as he jumped down.

"Yea, that one," Sam scoffed at the thought. For years she wanted to join the guards. It was her dream job. In fact, she willing went to the castle as a little girl looking for a chance to join, but all she got was a place in the kitchen as a scullery maid. Washing dishes and keeping the kitchen clean," Just wish I had a small chance to really express myself. Show what I got, you know."

"I understand," Ocellus started," all I wanted was to study my books and maybe make an important discovery or become an author. Not a regular laundry maid."

"Anna would love to stop cooking for evil queen!" Anna slammed against the floor startling her friends," And travel around the world through the seas like my ancestors!"

"Anything would beat this dump," Gallus jumped down with no problem," If I were free, I would run far from this place as far as possible."

"I would too," Sander added on to his friend's comment," Maybe then I would be able to see my family. It's been so long. I haven't seen them since I left to find a job."

"What about you Silver?" Ocellus asked, turning around expecting to see her friend. Only she wasn't on the floor yet. All 5 of them looked up to see the tan girl still on the wall, looking up at the stars, as if she was reading them," Silver?"

"What would I do if I was free?" Silver whispered to herself. She slowly looked down at nothing particular but even from a distance, her friends can see she was beginning to trigger her ptsd again.

"Oh no," Gallus whispered to himself," Silver get down before you hurt yourself!"

"I…. I would go off and find my family…. Maybe reunite with my…. My…." She jerked her head down as if a sharp pain just hit her. T.G looked from the other side of the wall. He wasn't sure if he should call out for help or not.

"Silver! Get down!" Sam carefully cried out as well as her friends. It didn't help, the girl on the wall started to groan in pain, her breath became rapid and she could feel the world start to spin.

"Run…. Run…. Run…" Silver kept whispering to herself. Each word she uttered, it got louder and louder.

"Silver! Snap out of it!" Sander tried to tell her. She still couldn't hear him. Screams echoed in her mind, cries of people wouldn't leave her ears. Before she knew it, tears began streaming down her cheeks.

"We need to get her down, help me up," Gallus told his friends. Sander locked his hands together and pushed Gallus up.

"Water…. Water…. I'm going to…. HELP! HELP!" Silver started shrieking.

Her voice was so loud; it could be heard across the garden. Not too far, Jp was walking by doing his night shift until he heard the girl screaming. Not needing to think twice if someone was in trouble, Jp pulled out his sword out and ran towards the screams.

"Silver! Silver! Relax," Gallus made it to the top and held onto her shoulders.

"Everyone is gone! No one's left!"

"Nothing's going to hurt you. I'm right here." Gallus kept trying to reach her.

"You guys might want to hurry," T.G spotted Jp emerging from the trees.

"Oh boy, please forgive me Silver…. Heads up!" Gallus grabbed onto his friend and pushed her off the wall. Everyone below caught her and wrapped their hands over her mouth trying to muffle her screams.

"Hey! Who's there!" Gallus heard Jp voice. He jumped off and urged everyone to start moving away from the wall.

"Jp! Heeeey," T.G put on an awkwardly wide smile as he leaned against the brick wall," What are you doing here?"

"Um…. I have the night shift. What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed, it's almost midnight," Jp told him.

"Oh you know, just going for a late night stroll across the garden,"

"Right…. I thought I heard a girl screaming here," Jp scanned the area trying to see the source of the screams.

"Screaming… I didn't hear screaming," T.G gave out a nervous laugh.

"Really? I was sure a girl was screaming help here,"

"Help?... Uh… that was me, yea," T.G stuttered on his words every now and then. Jp on the other hand wasn't buying it.

"You? You were screaming help?"

"Yep…." T.G said in an oddly happy tune for someone who was screaming help like bloody murder.

"Why?"

"Why?... It's…. It's a play I'm planning on audition for. You know that theater…. In that one place?" T.G felt his heart start racing like crazy," They're doing that one play…. Where a…. Teenage girl is crying for help."

Jp looked at his friend as if he lost his mind.

"Well… good luck on getting that part…. But it's almost midnight and you know how the queen hates people walking around past midnight."

"Yes sir!" T.G saluted and ran off. Jp just rolled his eyes at his weird antics before going back to his position.

In the town, all the stores were closed and the group of teens kept trying to calm Silver down.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't…. Don't know what happened…." Silver was breathing into a paper bag Ocellus provided for her.

"It's all right, we're out, now we just need to find Suki," Sander told them. He looked at the empty streets where the lamps were barely illuminating the streets. The clouds covered a majority of the moon, limiting their natural light. It was nearly pitch black. He can barely see what was a 10 feet away from him," I just hope she didn't go too far."

 _ **In town at 5 am**_

"How much longer," Sander was on the ground with his face in the dirt. Pulling onto his leg, Gallus groaned in annoyance.

"Don't start complaining, you're the one who suggested looking for Suki so early in the morning,"

"It's been almost 5 hours, I'm sure we're close," Ocellus looked over the map they had," We checked downtown, uptown, all we have left is the central, makes sense, that is where all the markets and stores are at."

"I just hope we find her before anyone at the castle realizes she's missing," Sam thought about what would happen if the queen found out one of her nieces had run off.

In the center of the town, people were running around, decorating the place with colors and flowers. No doubt to welcome all the suitors that were coming that day. Food was everywhere, everyone was wearing good clothing, and even cleaned up the place to make it look decent.

"Here are the dancing slippers that you needed Biggie," Branch came out of the shoe shop to tell his friends. They had a stand set up near their shop and displayed everything they had. Biggie took the shoes and put them on display hoping to sell them.

"Honestly Branch, how do you make such beautiful slippers. They're so smooth and such beautifully detailed," Biggie complimented his work.

"When you make 12 pairs of dancing shoes every month for 12 princesses, you get a lot of practice," Branch always felt proud of himself when he gets his friends to smile. For the past 7 years, business has improved. With Jps new job and the extra work like deliveries made them enough money to support their business. The one downside was that Cooper was no longer allowed near the castle walls and they rarely ever see Jp. He lived in the castle now due to work schedules but they were thankful for what he did. Working and gaining them money. He only had 3 years left of his contract with the queen, meaning once it's done he'll be coming back to the shop to help again. If they saved up the money and used it wisely, their business would continue running and they'll have enough money to support them for a generation or two. But just because they had a happier life didn't mean the world around them was happy. Not everyone had the luxury of working for the queen. People still had to over work and many had to steal to live. Sometimes he wished there was a way to improve this kingdom he lived in.

"Alright!" Cooper came into the scene with a barrel full of supplies," I just finished helping my family with their fruit and veggie stand and I'm ready to work! who's ready to start making shoes!"

"You got all the supplies?" Branch asked.

"Yep, fabric, metal, nails, polish, it's all here," Cooper chimed.

"What about scissors?" Branch asked. Cooper's body froze in time for a split second.

"The what?"

"We wore the scissors out remember? We needed new ones," Branch reminded him. Cooper looked inside the barrel for a while before backing up slowly.

"Anyone have some coins that I can borrow?" He asked. Branch rolled his eyes at his friend's forgetful nature. He grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the store.

"We'll be back from shopping soon," Branch told them as they left.

Walking by all the stands, Suki made sure her face was hidden from everyone. She swiped her curly hair away from her eyes to get a better look at all the things they had for sell. It was fascinating for her. They sold everything here, jewelry, dresses, toys, food, you name it. And to make things better, everything seemed so alive. People put colored decorations on their houses, many people were happily fixing their homes, everything looked so much happier than the day they first came. Chef must have done something wonderful for the citizens to be so happy.

(song, **Bold for actions** )

 _ **Town people**_

"Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,

Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,"

 **The town folk all sang in great harmony, each voice working well with the other.**

"Here in our land, our home,

Everyone will know the creative feeling of happiness!

Happiness oh happiness,

Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,"

 **Suki was amazed at the cheerful tone of everyone. She has never seen anyone in this kingdom so happy in her entire life. She couldn't believe it, for the past seven years, it was a miracle to see a single smile on anyone's face. Now here she is, experiencing happiness for the first time in this kingdom. She just had to know the reason why.**

"The festival is coming!

It's coming!

The festival of Freedom

From all around, come running!

To celebrate together!

The first ever one

Is coming

The Festival of faith and hope,

Is coming

So make some good weather

The Festival is almost here!"

 _ **Talk**_

"Would you like some fresh fruit my dear," an old man stopped Suki.

"Oh, no thank you sir. I don't have money," Suki denied the offer.

"That's alright, I'll give it to you for free," The man placed a yellow apple in her hands.

"Thank you?" Suki tilted her head in confusion," But I couldn't really. You need the money to…."

"I insist my dear. In just a few weeks our lives are about to change for the better," the man revealed to her.

"Really? Is that's why the town is so colorful today. Their making a festival to celebrate?"

"Yep, we're all so excited we couldn't resist putting a celebration," the man laughed in pure joy. This put a smile on Suki's face. She always enjoyed watching others feel joy and happiness.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is the town setting up a festival?"

"You haven't heard?" The man said in a surprising but cheerful tune. Suki only shrugged indicating she didn't get the memo," The princesses are going to court with some suitors soon."

"Oh," Suki's wide smile melted into a slightly sad but mostly surprised expression," And…. How is that good news exactly? I mean not that I don't think it's good news or anything but…. What does the princesses arranged marriages have to do with all this?"

"Everything dearest," an old lady came into the picture," You know that war we've been having against Bergen town. The prince from that kingdom is coming by to ask one of the princess's hand in marriage. If all goes well the war will finally end and then our little boy will finally come home."

"War? I didn't know we were at war," Suki was surprised by the sudden news.

"Oh we are. The queen sent a lot of young men, including our son, to go fight," The old man said in a downer tune," With him gone, we've been having financial problems as well."

"We won't have to worry about that soon either," the lady placed a hand over her husband's shoulder for comfort," I heard the prince from the Evergreen kingdom is willing to share his wealth with our kingdom in exchange for a princess's hand in marriage. With his wealth the citizens here won't have to worry about money for the longest time."

"Well…. That sure sounds great, but I don't know if the princesses like the idea of marrying a stranger," Suki tried to make them see this in her eyes.

"Oh we know," The lady said shocking Suki," Being a princess isn't easy. Sometimes she has to make tough choices to keep her kingdom happy. Which is why we are so grateful for the princesses."

Suki forced a smile on herself. She couldn't believe her ears. She never thought about the arranged marriages actually fixing a problem or being a good thing. All her life she has read books about how a princess should be free to marry who she wants to marry and live happily ever after. At that moment she can feel guilt build up on her chest on running away. Can it be she was being selfish about her situation? Was she only thinking of herself and not about the citizens?

She could think later. In a split second, Suki felt her hand get pulled into the celebration by some happy town folks. They had turned on the fountain and let the blue water spill beautifully against some kids hands. Everyone was having the time of their lives, dancing around the place.

"Cooper hurry up," Branch was practically dragging his friend through the crowd.

"Hold on, can't we stay and see the festival," Cooper kept getting distracted by everything. The food they were giving out, the events they were setting up, and just the sight of everything being so bright and happy. He whirled around to take a good look at everything until he felt a harsh push on his back.

"Whoa, sorry," He heard a female's voice pass by him. Cooper looked at the direction the voice came to see a curly red haired girl picking herself up from the floor," I'm not use to these types of dances."

"No no, my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going," Cooper helped the girl up. The moment he saw her; he couldn't help but feel something familiar. Her curly hair, freckles, purple eyes, what was it? "Have I seen you before?"

"Not that I remember," Suki shrugged her shoulders before taking off to join the dance again. The boy looked back at Branch to see he was almost at the shop then glanced back at the festival.

"Ok Cooper we have to…." Branch turned around to find that his friend had completely disappeared. No doubt to have fun," You got to be kidding me."

Barely entering the festival, the young 6 teens ran in and looked around.

"I don't see her, do you see her," Silver asked.

"Let's split up in pairs," Gallus suggested as he took ahold of Silver hand and pulled her to the right.

"Anna know best way," Anna pulled onto Sander to the left. Ocellus and Sam glanced at one another and shrugged. They both fled to the middle in hopes to find the missing princess.

 **(sing)**

 _ **Town folks**_

"Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,

Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,"

 **Everyone spun around in circles around the fountain in pure joy. While Suki was distracted at the fact that this was to celebrate the arrange marriages, she still wanted to have some fun. She jumped onto the side of the fountain to do a couple twirls and jumps. Not too far, Silver looked behind her to spot the red haired girl. She nudged onto Gallus arms, getting his attention, and pointed at Suki. Within a second, the two ran towards her.**

"Here in our land, our home,

Everyone will know how to celebrate the feeling of happiness!

Happiness oh happiness,

Happiness,

Happiness oh happiness,"

 **Her moves caught a lot of attention of the crowd. Many of them stopped to look at the princess leap high and spin with a lot of energy. This didn't go unnoticed by both Anna and Sander. When they landed their eyes on her, they quickly made their way through the crowd to get to her.**

"The festival is coming!

It's coming!

The festival of Kindness

From all around, come running!

To celebrate together!

The first ever one

Is coming

The Festival of Beauty,

Is coming

So make some good weather

The Festival is almost here!"

 **With the music still going on, Sam saw the princess and immediately pulled onto Ocellus arm and dragged her across the floor. Without looking, all six teens rammed into each other causing one another to stumble and fall.**

 **(scratch music away)**

One by one, the six fell with Ana slamming her back onto a stand, knocking the wooden poles over. The stand began to tilt towards where Suki was.

"Suki lookout!" Sander called out. Suki looked over her shoulder to see the incoming polls. She gave out a yelp and jumped away. Only she didn't really look where she was jumping. A man with his cart of items was passing by until Suki landed onto his cart and knocked everything over, breaking the cart in the progress.

"What was that for?!" The man screamed at the princess.

"I'm so sorry!" Suki stood up to her feet and apologized. She kneeled down and started to pick up all the items that fell.

"You better pay for all this missy!" The man grabbed her arm and pulled her up violently causing her to drop everything.

"I… i… I don't have any money on me sir. I didn't…." Suki felt herself get pulled away by the man.

"You think you can just hop around destroying other people's property?!" The man pushed her against a wall and raised his first. Suki didn't need to ask what was gonna happen. She shut her eyes tight and embraced for pain," Why I outta…."

"Thank you sir!" Right when the man was about to hit her, Suki got pulled out of the way causing the man to smack the wall instead. He screamed in agony and held onto his injury. Suki opened her eyes and realized she was no longer in danger but being pulled away by two people, "I've been looking all over for her. Honestly, she can be a real trouble maker."

She looked behind her to see Cooper was blocking her from the man. Next to her was a little girl with slightly slanted eyes and pale skin. She was pulling her away from the situation.

"You know this girl?" The man asked with some anger still locked inside him. Cooper took in a deep breath as if he was sad.

"Unfortunately, yes. She's our sister. She's a little crazy in the head," Cooper tried to whisper that last part.

"Hey," Suki heard that. The little girl then pulled onto her hood so Suki can hear her.

"Play along," she whispered.

"You two are siblings?" The man said suspiciously as he looked at their different skin color.

"I know I know, we come from a mix family," Cooper gestured towards the little girl, "She's my cousin Sushi. She was adopted and comes from a Japanese origin. One of my aunts is half swedish, one of my uncles is Swedish, my…..."

"I still need to get paid for all this damage!" The man grabbed Cooper by his collar shirt and pulled him in with a threatening face.

"I'll pay for the damages,' A white man with blond hair came into the scene. He pulled Cooper away from the man and pushed him with the girls. He took out a bag of coins and handed it to the angry man, "I'm sure this will pay for the damages."

The man took the bag in a rough manner and took a peek inside.

"It's all there, don't worry," The blond man began pushing Cooper and the girls away, "I'm sure my kids here won't bother you again."

"You better make sure they don't," The man angrily mumbled before gathering the bits of his broken wagon. Once they were far enough, the white man looked towards Suki.

"Don't mind him dear," He told her, "We run into him every day we come here. He's just one of those lonely grumpy old men with anger issues."

"Thank you all for saving me," Suki said.

"Don't mention it," Cooper shrugged it off. Again, he took a glance at her and noticed how clean and neat she looked compare to everyone else, "You not from around here are you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Suki pulled her hood over her face even more. She couldn't afford anyone recognizing her.

"Well, you kinda do stand out….. In a good way I mean," Cooper cleared his throat causing a giggle from the princess.

"Stick with us pretty lady," little Sushi chimed like a child, "We'll show you around the market and how to avoid trouble like that meanie."

Suki let a small smile form on her lips. This girl looked like she was around 12. Her hyper and kid like personality reminded her of herself as a child. She use to skip around in joy and play all day with her sisters. Speaking if which, how were her sisters doing with her out of the castle?

 _ **At the castle**_

"No…. No… no… NO!" Poppy was running around the room, pulling the covers from all 12 beds.

"What are you looking for?" Rebey asked her. Poppy checked under the beds before running to the balcony.

"Not what? Who!" Poppy scanned the garden but saw no one. She slammed her palms on the railings in frustration before knocking on the bathroom door. When no answer came, Poppy opened it and checked inside the shower and even under the sink.

"Who? Who's who?" Jo asked while she watched her panicking sister.

"Suki that's who!" Poppy went back to the bedroom and let herself plop on her bed.

"Maybe she's already down stairs? Chef did say she would busy today. Setting up for the suitors to come," Wisp added in a possibility.

"Uge, don't remind me," Satin groaned, "Getting married to a spoiled horrible prince! I just can't imagine my life being happy anymore."

"Tell me about it. The castle is going to be boring without you girls here to boss me around a lot," Rebey joked as she made her bed.

"Ha-ha, very funny Rebey," Jo went to her wooden chest and took out a small box. She pulled out a pair of round glasses with a thin, gold colored frame.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" Harper asked.

"Jp noticed I was very clumsy when I helped him with his training yesterday. He suggested I wear these from now on," Jo answered, "He said to think of them as a Birthday Day gift since I'm turning 19 a couple of weeks."

"Well whoopees for you!" Poppy cried out sarcastically, "Are we all just going to forget one of our sisters is gone!?"

"She probably went to have some alone time. She was rather upset yesterday," Bridget gently sat Poppy back down.

"I guess. I just want her to be here. With us. Before we…. I just can't believe we're actually getting separated like this,''

"It's our duty as princesses to serve our queen and follow her commands. If we must marry, we will," Jo told all her sisters before mumbling, "I just wish Chef didn't marry me off in my teens."

"You can't be considering this, could you?" Karma couldn't believe her ears.

"I wouldn't mind…. At least not too much… I mean we are princesses," Wisp said shyly and twirled with her bangs.

"Well I object to such actions," Chenille claimed," Making choices for me. I should decide who to marry!"

"I'm with you there," Karma agreed.

"No one's tying me down," Smidge claimed.

"I know for a fact I deserve better than a stuck up prince," Maddy backed them up.

"It would be nice to choose," Bridget thought out loud.

"We can't girls," Poppy stood back up, "We can't go against Chefs wishes. Let's try to look at the bright side. Once we're married then we won't have to live in this poor town."

"I guess," Smidge crossed her arms and huffed, "But that's only if we get picked as a bride… wait…. Only if we get picked as a bride…."

"Smidge?" Maddy noticed that look on her face.

"We can't get married if a prince doesn't pick one us!" Smidge jumped onto her feet in glee," All we have to do is scare off the princes and then they won't be interested in marrying us."

"Smidge that is brilliant!" Maddy clapped her hands together at her idea.

"Scare off the suitors? I think that sounds a bit mean does it not?" Wisp asked with her shy voice.

"I agree, I'm not happy with this arrange marriage either but sabotaging the princes and scare them off…. doesn't seem right or nice," Jo added into the conversation.

"Please, what is mean is Chef making this arrangement in the first place!" Chenille comment," I say Smidges idea is brilliant."

"I second that!" Satin raised her hand.

"It's worth a shot," Bridget shrugged her shoulders.

"Ain't nobody stealing my sisters away from me!" Rebey chimed.

"Oh boy! Those suitors better look out cause here come Karma!" Karma rubbed her hands in excitement.

"That's 7 yeses and 2 nos'!" Smidge happily said. She then turned to the eldest sister," Poppy? What do you say?"

Poppy sat in her bed, thinking over what Smidge just said. This seemed a little extreme in her eyes. Scarring off the suitors? How would they do it? Would Chef get mad?

"If you girls are so sure about it…. And promise nothing too extreme…. Then I guess it can work," Poppy agreed. All the girls cheered and hopped around.

"Ladies, breakfast is waiting for you," they heard T.G call to them. All the girls excitedly ran out and made their way to the dining room.

 _At the garden_

After breakfast, Chef opened up the castle and the garden to everyone who wanted to see the competitions. The girls watched from a platform that was set up out in the garden and watched as everyone came in. Of course, suitors from all over had to answer the call. The girls couldn't believe how many there were. There must've been at least one suitor from each kingdom.

"Sheesh, I knew we were some of the fairest princesses out there but this right here is ridiculous," Maddy tried to count how many suitors came.

"Oh, I don't like this," Wisp shivered in fear.

"Welcome peasants! I'm so glad you all came to witness the competitions I have set up. Now here are the rules. I know many of you men have come in hopes to gain a princess hand in marriage. Well I only have 10 girls open for the position, and too many of you men. So here's the deal, We will hold 10 competitions today. Each one will have a certain princess as his prize. Starting from youngest to oldest. Each winner will win the hand of one princess and take her as his bride." Smidge nearly gagged at the mention if being a bride. As Chef continued with the announcement, the girls all huddled to talk.

"Anyone seen Suki yet?" Poppy asked.

"No, and I worry that she may actually not be within the castle walls," Jo told them with worry.

"She couldn't just run away… could she?" Poppy thought about her younger sister. She was quiet rebellious. More than anyone she knows. But it was that rebellion that sometimes led her to make dumb decisions.

"If she did, someone better find her or else Chef will…" Jo couldn't finish her sentence. She felt her aunt's hand grab her arm and pull her front and center.

"The first princess on display is my 18 year old niece here Jocabed," Chef announced. The crowd cheered in delight while the girl awkwardly smiled at the thought of being a prize, "First up, horse riding and archery. The competitor that hits the most bullzy in the race and crosses the finish line with their horse first, will be crowned the winner. Get your horses ready because the race will start in 15 minutes."

One by one, all the suitors walked up to their horses and prepared for the race. Unexpectedly, one of them decided to walk up to the girls.

"Ladies," he bowed to which the girls politely bowed back, except for Smidge. Noticing this, Poppy gave her a nudge.

"Ow," Smidge looked at Poppy who mouthed the words , _be nice,_ to her. Smidge rolled her eyes and forced the fakest and biggest smile before bowing down too.

"I'm prince Jabez. And I must say what an honor it is to marry one you fine ladies," the moment he said that, Poppy had to put a hand in front of Smidge to prevent her from attacking the guy. The girls looked at each other with confused or shocked looks. Did he really just assume that he was gonna marry one of them?

"How….. ludicrous for you to say," Jo told him in her usual polite tune.

"Thank you your highness. I must say I am rather ludicrous aren't I. What was your name?"

"Jo," she answered.

"Jo?... A bit of a man's name don't you think?"

"It's short for Jocabed," She answered with a hint of embarrassment from her name, "My mom picked it."

"Jocabeth?"

"Jocabed," she corrected him.

"Josabeth?" she couldn't believe he just said her name even worse.

"Jocabed,"

"Ah yes, Yathabeth,"

"You are butchering my name in ways I didn't even know it can be butchered," Jo resisted the urge to smart talk this guy.

"Well names aren't too important for a womens image anyways," this caught the attention of all the girls.

"Excuse me?" Wisp gasped.

"A woman's image is much more important than her name. And I must say, quite a few of you are beauties,"

"What is that suppose to mean?" Smidge rolled up her sleeves ready for a fight.

"It means not many of you catches my eye. I like my girls…. Taller," He said as he glanced over at Smidge. That was it. Smidge charged at the prince ready to beat him to a pulp. Right when she was only a few feet away of ripping him apart, her sisters pulled her back.

"Let me at him! Lemme at him!" Smidge cried out.

"I believe the race is starting in just a 10 minutes sir," Poppy said with a fake smile on her face and a wild Smidge in her arms,'' Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Of course," Jabez started to walk away before looking over at Jo," Don't worry darling, When I win you as my bride I'll make sure to change that name of yours to something more feminine."

Jo simply nodded at his comment and watched him leave.

"What does ludicrous mean," Bridget asked her

"Foolish, unreasonable and ridiculous," Jo said in her same calm voice.

"Oh," Bridget plainly replied.

"What are the chances of that guy winning?" Smidge mumbled in anger.

"Fifteen sixteen,... There's 30 guys in total," Jo counted, "So he has 3% chance of winning this race."

Looks like he's increasing his chances," Harper tugged into Rebeys dress and pointed at the prince. Rebey looked to see the prince was cutting one of the other mens saddle. Once it was nice and loose, he left.

"Why that little cheat…." Rebey mumbled under her breath.

"What if he does win?" Harper asked in worry.

"No he is not," Rebey hopped off the stage and ran to the very back of the castle. She ran into the entrance of the castle at the back and sprinted up the stairs. She had at least 10 minutes to get ready. She knows this may be against the rules but there were times when a princess had to take risks. Especially if it was for her sisters sake. She deserved her freedom, not a life time with a jerk. Rebey ran into her room, grabbed her archery supplies, tied her long hair into a high ponytail and ran out of the room. She slid down the railings of the stairs

"Now remember! Across the kingdom and back again! First racer to cross the finish line with their horse wins!" Chef announced. At the back, Rebey charged out the doors and ran towards a stable near by.

"Now here we go, on your marks….." As Chef was about to let the racers go, Rebey placed a saddle on her horse and tied it well," Get set…."

With only a second to spare, Rebey hopped on and broke down the stable door that held the horse in.

"Go!" the second Chef said this, all the horses began running out the garden gate. Including the princess who was only a few seconds behind everyone.

"Rebey!?" All her sisters did a double take when they saw her race by. They all stood in shock and stared at her until she disappeared into the distance.

"What is that girl doing?!" Chef was just as confused as the girls.

"FREEDOM!" They heard Rebey cry out from a distance.

"I think she's racing for Jo's freedom," Poppy concluded right after that shout.

"Racing for her own sisters….. That can't be allowed!" Chef cried out.

"Let's check the rule book," Jo suggested.

Going across the streets, Rebey can feel the summer air in her face. Well, whatever summer air there was. This kingdom was known for being cold all year but during this time, it was a nice 60 degrees. At a near distance, Rebey can see the first target. She pulled out her bow and arrow, and aimed it towards the target. She pulled the arrow back and steadily aimed it, making sure she got the best shot. Once the moment was right, she let go and shot the target right in the middle.

"Yes!" Rebey fist bump the air. This was gonna be a piece of cake for her.

( song )

 _ **Rebey**_

"When the cold wind is calling,

And the sky is clear and bright,

Misty mountains sing and beckon,

Lead me out into the light,"

 **As the horses ran into the forest, Rebey spotted a second target on a high branch. She looked to her left then to her right. There she spotted some ground going up. She pulled onto the horse and went up the slant. This gave her an advantage but she still wasn't high enough. Just a couple seconds away was a small cliff. She smirked at the idea that this can be useful. At the very edge, she had her horse bend and jump i to the air, getting her closer to the target. She took the opportunity and shot the arrow, nearly missing the red dot in the middle but she still made it. She landed near another racer, nearly knocking her down.**

"I will ride, I will fly,

Chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly

Chase the wind and touch the sky,"

 **Back at the castle, all the girls and Chef went inside. While half of them were at the balcony, looking through a telescope so they can see their sister race, Ji and Poppy were looking over the rule book with Chef.**

" **See, right here," Chef pointed out, "All competitors must come from a different kingdom. You all live here in my kingdom meaning Rebey can't possibly compete."**

" **But Rebey is from the Rainbow Kingdom. She was born their giving her citizenship to our kingdom," Jo explained.**

" **But she's your sister!" Chef claimed, "She can't possibly compete for you."**

" **The rule book only says competitors. It doesn't say anything about who can't join or that a family member can't compete," Poppy pointed out pleasing her sister.**

" **Rebey hit another target! She's almost at first!" Bridget cheered on her sister. Poppy and Jo gasped in delight and joined the others to watch.**

" **oh….. Who says she'll win," Chef told herself.**

"Where dark roots hide secrets,

And mountains are fierce and bold,

Deep waters hold reflections,

Of times lost long ago,"

 **They came to a rocky part of the kingdom. This part had slight snow in it but overall still beautiful. It had little flower buds popping from the snow and rocks covering almost every inch of the ground. Rebey looked ahead to see they were now at the bottom of a canyon. At a turn she can see that many riders stopped and hopped off their horse. They all looked up to see the next target was pinned way to high up for anyone to reach. It was pinned about 20 feet up to the left of them. Rebey looked at the target while still riding her horse. She looked around to see they were in a bowl like canyon. Her eyes lit up when an idea came to her. She rushed her horse to move faster. When all the other riders heard the footsteps of the horse, they all looked back only to get startled at the sight of her coming at full speed. Everyone ran to the sides, not wanting to get ran over by the girl. As they all scrambled to get to each side, one man couldn't seem to decide. He ran to the left then to the right. He kept slipping side to side until he finally decided on letting himself fall on the ground and cover his head. Rebey went faster and faster with each second until she commanded her horse to jump up and avoid hitting the man. The horse had enough speed to go up on the rocky wall and go high enough for the princess to aim and shoot. She may have been slightly off the middle but she hit it either way.**

"I will read every story,

Take hold of my own dream,

Be as strong as the seas are stormy,

And proud as an eagle's scream,

I will ride, I will fly,

Chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly,

Chase the wind and touch the sky,"

 **At a field full of grass with bits of snow decorating it, Rebey had to find the targets hidden in the tall grass. Just up ahead, Jabez aimed at three targets. He hit them perfectly one by one.**

" **Perfect," He smiled at his accomplishment. His enjoyment was short lived when he felt three arrows pass his head. One by one, each one sliced his arrows in half," What the…."**

 **He turned around to see Rebey sprinting away with her horse. The girl looked back at him with a smile before saluting him goodbye.**

"And touch the sky,

Chase the wind,

Chase the wind,

Touch the sky!"

(End of song)

At a cliff, Rebey jumped a gap and made it to the other platform ahead. She entered a more snowy area. While it did have green grass and flowers, snow was more plentiful here. Just up ahead, she can see the last target. It was pinned against a tree that was on the other side of a lake that was partly frozen. She slowed down her horse so he didn't run right into the frozen cold water. She studied the area to see the ice was cracking and some parts had already been broken apart.

"What am I supposed to do here?" She asked herself.

"Move it or lose it little girl!" she heard Jabez behind her. He swooped right by her and hopped from ice to ice. Still full of determination, Rebey commanded her horse to do the same. Each jump was a risk at falling. The ice would break apart from a bigger chunk or would simply unbalance and nearly trip the horse the rider.

"Easy boy," Rebey petted her horse to calm down. She carefully hopped from ice to ice, nearing the target.

"Hey kid!" Jabez called out to her. When Rebey looked his way, she saw him getting ready to aim and shoot. Once he was close enough, he let the arrow go, causing it to hit the target," Save yourself the embarrassment! Your just a naive little kid after all!"

The prince laughed. He pulled his horse so he can keep moving forward. Rebey grumbled in frustration.

"I'll show him," Rebey carefully jumped closer to the target before taking her shot. Bullzeye! The girl applauded at her success. She moved her horse to start moving forward as well. She hit all the targets, now all was left was to race to the finish and get there first.

"Hope you won't be too disappointed girly," She heard the prince from a distance.

"I'm not gonna let you win," Rebey replied back to him, "I know I can do this!"

"It's so sad seeing you live in denial. Even the mentally ill are smarter than you," this last comment from him made Rebey gasp in disbelief. What kind of guy thinks and talks like this? She kept jumping from ice to ice, hoping she'll make it to the prince.

"Stop trying little one. You can't force yourself to the top with your stupid fantasies and…." Before he can finish his sentence he took one wrong step causing him and the horse to fall straight into the water.

"Oh no," Rebey gasped. She hurried her way to where he fell. She hopped off her horse and helped the prince out of the water, "You alright?"

"Yea…." The prince spat out some water. He looked down at the girl and gave her a small smile. Rebey returned the smile until it got washed off. Literally. The prince shoved the girl into the water before making a run for it," Like I said! Naive little girl who should go back to kindergarten!"

"Why that little no good son of WHOA!" Rebey slipped back into the water before she can cuss that guy out. Once she lifted herself onto the floating ice, Rebey prepared herself to hop back onto her horse, that is until she heard a horses cry for help. She looked over her horse to see the prince had left his horse in the water. The animal pulled itself up on a piece of ice only for it to break and fall back into the water. Seeing it couldn't get out on its own, Rebey looked into her sack and pulled out some rope. She tied a knot and made it into a lasso. The princess carefully approached the horse, trying not to crack any ice and fall in as well.

"Easy girl, easy," Rebey whispered to the panicking horse. The animal was in such a panic, it broke many pieces of ice around it. She was about 10 feet away from the poor animal but Rebey knew at this point she couldn't get any closer without falling into the water. She twirled her lasso around in the air before throwing it. She missed it by a couple feet.

"Darn it," Rebey cussed to herself. She pulled it back and tried again, the again, then again. Until finally on the 7th try, she wrapped that lasso around the horse, "Yes! Now get over here."

Rebey pulled onto the rope but she couldn't budge. She pulled and pulled but it was like moving a mountain, "Why couldn't I be stronger!?"

Rebey pulled and moved her feet as fast as she can creating the image of a cartoon running in place. She went like this until she finally let herself fall. She blew some hairs away from her face and looked at the sky with a grumpy face.

"What else can I do?" She asked herself. The sound of her horse neighing caught her ears. She looked back at her horse and smiled. With in seconds, Rebey tied the other end of the rope to her horse and had him pull the other horse out of the ice," There we go. Good boy."

Rebey hugged her horse before running up to the other one and examined it.

"You look like your ok. Just wet. Come on," Rebey hopped onto her horse and rode him away with the second horse still tied to hers.

At the finish line, Rebey can hear cheering and clapping for the prince that made it. She felt a great amount of disappointment fall on her. How could she lose?

"Ah there's my horse," Jabez pulled the rope off and walked away with the horse, "I must say Princess Rebey. I'm impressed with your determination. But you lack one thing. And that's common sense. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how much you wanted to win, You would have never beat me in this race. Cry yourself to sleep tonight with that thought alright?"

Rebey bit down on her tongue so hard she could already taste her blood. Who does this guy think he is?

"It's ok Rebey," she felt a hand over her shoulder. She didn't need to look to know who was talking to her. Jo simply rubbed her sisters shoulders for comfort," I appreciate you trying."

"I'm sorry," Rebey looked down in shame. Poppy felt her heart break for her two sisters. Not only is Jo stuck with this guy but Rebey feels like an utter failure, "I could've won…. I could've…. It's just that he left his horse to drown and I…. I couldn't just leave it…"

Wait a minute!

"Hold on now," Poppy called out. She went on stage where the prince was about to be awarded a blue ribbon. She looked at the people and announced, "Chef said the first racer to cross the finish line _with their horse_ wins!"

"Poppy what are you doing?" Chef glared at her.

"Jabez came on foot. But Rebey crossed the finish line with her horse," the crowd began to mumbbel at Poppys statement.

"It's true! She did say you had to cross the finish line with your horse!" Smidge cheered.

"You can't be serious princess," Jabez couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I am," Poppy took the ribbon and jumped off the stage. She walked over to Rebey and handed her the ribbon, "Which is why I announce Rebey as the winner of this race!"

With that, the crowd bursted out in cheers.

"Smart move," Jo complemented Poppy.

"I do have a smart sister," Poppy complemented back. While the sisters had their moment of happiness, Chef felt angered at the thought that she had been cheated by her own nieces.

 **Hope you all liked it. I know we didn't see the main characters that much but believe me, with a story as big as this, every little detail needs to be done. I'm really happy because I went to San Francisco for a My Little Pony convention! So happy! I always wanted to go to one since I was 12. Now with the final season, that was my last chance and it actually happened! I cried tears of joy and couldn't stop! I'll also be uploading the mlp version of this story in an hour so keep an eye out you mlp fans.**

 **And for that prince Jabez, I based that guy off of a… toxic, rude, idiotic, close minded, disrespectful, soooooo hated by many, 20 year old women! Who so happens to be in the mlp fandom with me. She's so mean to every Fluttercord shipper ( you'll only know what that means if your into my little pony. It's a ship) to the point where she calls us autistic pedophiles with no life. She screams "Pedophilen lesbian Horse F****" and "Mentally Ill idiots who should go to a mental hospital and die!" and so many other things I can't say in a rated k+story. But it wasn't pretty. It got on my nerves so much I had to write a character based on her to let my anger out….. I feel much better.**

 **Well, songs are "Touch the Sky" from brave.**


	7. Performance

**So… a year… ok ok, so I was down in the dumps. I got a major and I mean MAJOR writers block for my trolls story. Yep, I ran out of ideas and just sat on my bed thinking what to do next. Fortunately, after watching the 2nd film, I sprung with new ideas and had to write them now. So I hope this is the push I need to finish up the Trolls story! Here we go!**

"A WHAT!" All the girls shouted at the same time. The youngest sister nervously shrugged before speaking.

"A performance…. You girls have to do an opening performance." Harper revealed.

"We didn't know there was an opening ceremony. Poppy?" Chenille looked over at their sister who was avoiding eye contact.

"Poppy you knew!?" Satin didn't ask but stated the facts.

"Uge, yes I knew," Poppy gave in, "I was supposed to open the ceremony with a song with all you girls in the background. But I was too nervous so I was able to talk Chef into not doing the opening ceremony. But instead she decided to turn it into an announcement for the next princess for the princes to compete for."

"Well, who's the next princess?" Karam asked.

"Girls! On stage now! Don't keep these noble men waiting," they heard Chef cry out. The girls all hurried to the stage behind the curtains. Poppy was in the middle while her sisters potioned from youngest to oldest. Wisp, Maddy, Karma, Smidge, Satin, Chenille, and Bridget. Smidge suddenly felt a tug on her dress and was led off stage.

"Hey, what…."

"I prefer if you stay out of the spotlight," Chef told her and nudged her next to Harper in the wings.

" Out of the spot light? For what?" Smidge asked a little suspicion, and her answer made her regret asking.

"I want the noblemen to see my best nieces. Can't have someone as disabled as you to ruin the image of the performance," after this, Chef left to drag Bridget off stage as well. She hid her in the wings, something about taking up too much space on stage. She even pulled Wisp from her wheelchair and placed her on the floor in front of the girls in a stylish pose. Trying to make it look like she's supposed to be there and to hide the fact that she was disabled. She made sure all the girls looked perfect and presentable. Smidge was stunned big time. She remained in one spot, staring off in the distance. She knew her size was very out of the ordinary but never did she think of it as something that ruins the princess image.

Poppy looked at her sisters.

"Ok girls, just follow my lead. Chef already had me rehearse this song," the girls nodded yes to conform they understood. Poppy was sweating buckets at this point. She felt her heart beat so hard that she could feel it cause pain to her chest.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chef announced from her private seat, "As a thank you for coming, my nieces shall perform a short concert for you all and reveal the next princess on the prize table."

Poppy rolled their eyes at the word prize. Why must she put up with this?

"Without further ado, may the show begin!" The lights dimmed down and the curtain slowly opened to reveal the princesses.

 _ **Poppy**_

"We are the nieces of the queen, lovely ladies who are all named well,"

 **She began while putting on her best smile. Once she began, she noticed some more men and their families come in. Some of them stood out like no other. One example was that a suitor had a deep blue suite and a pink bow tie. His hair was pushed back and had some neon green highlights. Poppy can't remember the last time Chef let them have color like that.**

"Wisp,

Maddy,

Karma

Satin

Chenille

 _Sukira,_

and Poppy!

 **Poppy empathises on Suki's name as much as she could without attracting much attention. The girls noticed this but didn't catch on what she meant.**

"Yes, We are the nieces of the queen, lovely ladies who are all named well,

Wisp,

Maddy,

Karma

Satin

Chenille

 _Sukira,_

and Poppy!

 **The second time is when it finally hit them. Suki! She was supposed to be in the performance too!**

"In concert we hope to thank you, the hearts of the noblemen with music now, Wisp,"

 **Poppy signals for Wisp to sing to which she did. Letting out a beautiful melony.**

"Maddy,"

 **Maddy let out a short scat.**

 _ **Maddy**_

"Bodo bopo bo pow pa da pa pow!"

 _ **Poppy**_

"Karma!"

 _ **Karma**_

"Hello!"

 **Karma happily gave a wave to everyone With a grand smile. Her voice keeping the melody of the music.**

 _ **Poppy**_

"Satin,"

 _ **Satin**_

"Hi ya!"

 **Satin perked up in a sing song way and her twin soon jumped next to her, knowing she was next.**

 _ **Poppy**_

"Chenille!"

 **Chenille let out a melody but held back her worry. She knew who was next and they had to think fast**

 _ **The girls besides Poppy**_

"Poppy!"

 **Poppy let out a joyful sounding laugh but it was mainly out of fear. She knew her sisters wanted to help but boy were they wrong.**

"And then there's the princess,

The one who who's next to debut,

The third oldest sister will be the prize for you,

To win her hand in marriage, you must give it your best!

It's our sister Sukira!

 **This made all their hearts sink like rocks. A long awkward pause followed the performance, all the people waiting for her to show up. Chef lifted a brow, glaring at the girls. Seeing there was no other way, Poppy pushed all her sisters away and signaled Bridget to close the curtains.**

"La la la la la la!"

(End)

As the audience mumbled to one another in confusion, Chef marched her way back stage and swung the door wide open.

"Where is she!" She demanded.

"We don't know, honest," Poppy spoke up while all her sisters hid behind her. Chef marched up to the oldest and looked her in the eye. Poppy could feel sweat start to drip from her forehead.

"If she ran away and I find her, there will be some _big_ consequences!" Chef spat out, making Poppy cringe in fear.

"She wouldn't have run away if you didn't drop the whole marriage bomb on us!" Smidge talked back for Poppy. Everyone was taken back by the sudden outburst. Smidge was indeed the toughest of the girls but she never had this kind of angry reaction.

"Oh please. It's just marriage, no big deal," Chef argued back.

"It's a _huge_ deal!" Smidge fought back, "You're making us leave with some men we don't know. And if going to a strange land with a total stranger isn't enough, we might not see eachother again! Is it so much to ask for a _little_ free will?"

Chef gave a low growl at this. Smidge stood her ground even when a pinch of fear started to grow on her chest. There was no turning back now, she either backed down or stood her ground. After an intense moment, Chef backed away, still giving a deadly stare. She walked past all the girls and onto the stage.

"You ok?" Poppy asked Smidge. Her response was a firm nod. Smidge kept her eyes on Chef who was about to announce something.

"Pardon for the delay ladies and gentlemen," Chef began, "It appears we have a family issue at the moment. We'll have to extend this event for a couple of days. But please, I'll have my servants set up some rooms for you. And take this extra time to get to know my nieces a little more."

The girls were clearly not liking this. The last thing they wanted was to get to know the snobby princes and kings that came. After the announcement, Chef came backstage to a lot of angry princesses.

"We are _not_ about to mingle with these snobs," Maddy angrily started. Her sisters mumbled in agreement but Chef stood her ground.

"It's bad enough Suki ran off, embarrassing a prince in the horse riding match, the least you girls could do is talk to these young men. You'll be one of their wives soon."

With that, Chef left the girls in disbelief. At the garden, the girls were bitter but greeted everyone with a smile. They met with the usual prince. High class, thinking he's better, and just not charming in any way.

"I hate this," Karma sighed while still holding her smile.

"We should've ran off like Suki. At least she's free," Smidge mumbled.

"I need some space. I'll be at the pond if anyone needs me," Karma decided. Just as she was about to walk away, Wisp tugged on her dress.

"Can I come?" She shyly asked. Karma smiled and pushed her sister's wheelchair.

"How are you feeling about all this?" Karma asked her sister.

"Kinda nervous," Wisp played with her bangs as she spoke. She looked around and noticed many of the suitors gave her odd looks. Even whispering to one another. New suitors even came today, running late. Of course Chef didn't care, the more suitors the better.

"Don't worry Wisp, not all the suitors will judge you based on your condition." It was as if Karma read her mind. She stopped at a hill that gave them a great view of the lake below, "Just follow our plan."

Wisp simply nodded at this.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Karma asked her.

"What about some punch and oatmeal cookies?" Wisp asked.

"Coming right up!" Karma cheered. She whirled around and walked to where the snack bar is. A minute past by, then two, three, four and five. After a long while, Wisp turned her wheelchair to look where her sister is. No surprise, she swarmed by a group of suitors. She sighed at the sight. So many of her sisters were getting a lot of attention and yet they didn't want it. And here she was, willing to give this arranged marriage a try, with no eyes on her. Karma glanced over at her and gave an apologetic look. She squeezed through all the suitors, trying to get to Wisp. But every step she took only seemed to attract one more suitor.

"Sorry gentlemen," Karma tried to talk, "I really need to get to my sister."

Wisp felt a bit uncomfortable when Karma got closer to her cause she brought a group of suitors with her. Karma finally made it to Wisp and handed her the drink and cookie. She took her food and watched as Karma tried to fight off all the men.

"So when will you be put on the prize table?" A suitor asked her. Karma cringed at the question. Why did he have to refer to her as the prize

"I'm not sure. It's up to my aunt really," Karma tried to answer all the questions that were aimed at her. She was so distracted that she didn't notice one of the suitors bumped into Wisps wheelchair causing her to start rolling back.

"Karma?" Wisp called to her older sister. She looked behind her to see she was gonna roll off the hill, "Karma?"

She tried to get her attention but Karma was still occupied. Wisp noticed she was starting to roll faster and started to go down hill.

"Karma!" Wisp finally got her sister's attention. The second Karma looked back, Wisp was long gone.

"Wisp?" Karma panicked. She ran to the edge of the hill. She looked down and saw the girl racing down the hill and to the lake, "WISP!"

Karma shoved any suitors aside and raced after her sister. It wasn't going to change the fact Wisp was on wheels and she was on her feet.

Wisp held onto her wheelchair, dropping all her food in the process. She looked back and saw she was only mere seconds from the lake. She looked back up and Karma was nowhere near her. She just grip on the armrest of her chair and shut her eye's tight. She held in her breath and waited for the water to consume her.

"Your highness!" A males voice cried out. Wisp kept her eye's closed and didn't even dare open them. She then felt a sudden change in gravity. Her chair slowed down but she still felt some water rise against her ankles. Even when the chair came to a full stop, she kept her body tense and eye's shut, "You ok?"

She heard the same male voice. Shaking, she opened her eyes and looked down. The lake was up to her ankles meaning she was in the shallow part of the lake. In front of her was a young man around her age. Maybe a couple years older. Blue eyes, dark skin and hair that was colored blue. He held onto her chair's armrest, stopping her chair from going any deeper into the lake.

"Are you ok your highness," he asked, a little more worried. Wisp gave a light nod letting him know she was.

"Wisp!" Karma finally made it and hugged her sister. The man backed away as Karma consitally thanked him.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She kept repeating and pushed her sister out of the water. The other sisters came running and surrounded Wisp.

"Wisp!" Poppy was the most worried. She pushed her way to her and checked for any injuries, "What happened? Are you ok?"

"I rolled down the hill but I'm ok," Wisp assured her older sister. The man that helped her was slowly walking away until Poppy looked over at him. She hurried over to him and said.

"Thank you for saving our sister," She stopped him in his tracks. She decided to get a good look at him. He was clearly a prince. A nice pink dress shirt that had some gold glitter on it. His blue dress pants also had lines of gold glitter and even his hair was sprinkled with gold glitter. His short dreads had gold rings wrapped around them. She had never seen so much sparkles and color since Aunt Chef made her and her sisters stop painting their hair, "Is there any way I can repay you?"

"No need princess Poppy," The man gave a kind smile. This was so refreshing for Poppy. Not all suitors have been pleasant to them, "Couldn't just stand here and watch her drown in the lake."

"Where are you from?" Wisp slowly pushed her wheelchair to Poppy and the man.

"Vibe Kingdom," the man answered. Before he could say anything else, two more people walked up behind him and wrapped their arms around him. Poppy concluded they were his parents from how they dressed. The woman was in a sparkling blue gown and the man was in a shimmering gold colored suit.

"Our kingdom," the man said, "I am King Quincy."

"And I am Queen Essence," the lady smiled. She gestured to her son before speaking, "This young man is Prince D."

"It's an honor to be in your presence," Prince D bowed down to the girls along with his parent's. The princesses were taken back from the gesture. They have never met anyone so respectful or polite.

"Oh, thank you," Poppy lightly laughed at this, "I'm Poppy, these are my sisters…."

"Princess Bridget, Satin, Chenille, Smidge, Karma, Maddy, Wisp, Jo, Rebey and Harper," Prince D named them all perfectly surprising them, "And if I'm not mistaken, there is another princess, Sukira, third oldest."

"How…." Poppy was speechless.

"I learned about all the kingdoms and their rulers. As the heir to the throne, it's my job to know about all my possible allies," He stated. The girls glanced at one another then back at him.

"I haven't seen you here lately," Poppy added in.

"We were running late. Our Kingdom is really far but Queen Chef gratefully let us join." The queen answered, "It's a huge honor to be here really."

"We can't describe how happy we are that you young ladies are willing to do this," The king chimed. The princesses looked up at him in some confusion until the queen spoke.

"I know how hard arranged marriages can be. Believe me, I had to deal with many suitors around the world. Stuck up, mean, full of themself. I even ran away from home after a week of meeting suitors."

"Run away?" Poppy repeated a little worried. This sounded all too familiar to her. Essence gave a quick giggle before continuing her story.

"As I walked the streets, I met a kind young man. Tall, dark, handsome…."

"Ok mama, we get it," Prince D laughed.

"At the time he introduced himself as a commoner. I followed him to his home, a small farm house his family owned. There I helped around, picking apples, harvesting corn, yes it was a lot of work but I was free. And better yet, I had him to keep me company. Almost every night we would dance and dance in an endless flow. It felt like grace and beauty of a perfect design. He made me laugh, he made me smile, just the sight of his smile was enough to make my heart flutter," The Queen's face was pure bliss. Her eye's closed and a soft smile on her lips. She was clearly in a daze at the memories she made, She slowly opened her eyes slowly while her smile faded, "But not everything lasts forever. My father sent troops to look for me and they found me. In the middle of the night they tore the farm house upside down. I tried to escape but I couldn't just leave him and his family alone…."

"So you gave yourself up?" Bridgett gasped in worry. Essence, sadly nodded.

"If it meant his and his family's safety. I was taken back while he continued his life on the farm. Night after night, I sat in my room praying to the heavens to keep him safe. My heart was torn like never before, I refused to leave my room to meet anymore suitors. After so many nights, it was like my prayers were answered. My kingdom was under attack by pirates. I knew they were headed for the castle so I put on my disguise and ran off. My poor father was captured but he was grateful for my escape. I went to who I knew I could trust. I found his family ready to leave the kingdom but I was able to talk them into fighting back. With their help, we were able to rally together the kingdom, battle against the enemy, and fight. It was a long hard battle but at the end, with my leadership, we were able to push them away from the kingdom. Thanking me, Father had finally given me free will, telling me I was old enough to become queen without a proper suitor. My first act as queen was to rebuild our kingdom, making it stronger than before."

"And…." Maddy, who was swooning throughout the whole story, urged her to continue. Essence giggled at the girl's ethesassim.

"And I was able to be with the one I loved. While father was skeptical, he trusted my decisions."

"That story only gets better and better every time you tell it," her husband hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek. The girls awed at the story, imagining themselves in their shoes. If only there was a way for them to have what they did.

"What you ladies are doing is more than courageous," King Quincy told them, still holding his wife, "Not knowing who you'll be married off to, it's a scary thought."

"And we hope that our little prince here will be able to live up to your expectations," Essence ruffled Prince Ds hair. The boy laughed and pulled away playfully.

"That is if I'm lucky enough to be with any of you," D comment. His parents held onto his shoulders and pushed him away.

"We should get going," Essence told them, "Chef says she has some rooms prepared for us."

"It was nice meeting you all," Prince D waved goodbye."

The girls waved back and watched as they disappeared into the distance.

"Huh, well ain't he a charmer," Satin said, impressed by him, "A few of these suitors could use a lesson or two from him."

"If only Chef took a lesson or two from their story," Poppy whispered to herself. She thought about the queens story and how they were practically in the same story. Or at least Suki was. All she could do right now was pray that Suki was safe and someone finds her soon.

 **Short yes, but give me a break. I just watched the sequel and I'm just coming out of hiatus. I wanted to introduce the new characters soon. Next chapter I can guarantee the new characters will show up. Song is to the tune "Daughters of Triton" Live version.**


End file.
